A bastion of Hindu tradition, art and creative culture, Jaffna welcomes visitors warmly. It’s intriguing, unimposing, slightly off the beaten path and a thoroughly rewarding place to learn about Sri Lankan Tamil culture.

A fort was originally built in this location by Portuguese colonialists in 1619 during their invasion of the Jaffna Kingdom and was held for nearly 40 years, during which they fought off three Sri Lankan rebellions against their rule. In 1658, the Dutch captured it when they briefly joined forces with the Sinhalese and then used it as a base to consolidate their own power. 

The Dutch expanded it, and defensive triangles were added in 1792 to produce the fort's defining pentagonal shape you'll recognise from aerial imagery of the structure. However, British colonial powers seized control of the garrison just three years later without firing a shot.

Following Sri Lanka's independence from Britain, the fort became a focal point of the country's civil war between Tamil groups and the the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan Government, with government forces using it as an encampment. In 1990 the LTTE (also known as the Tamil Tigers), who were at the time in control of the rest of Jaffna, forced out government troops after a grisly 107-day siege. 

After the war concluded in 2009, authorities began the painstaking task of restoration, with financial help from the Dutch government. Restoration of the coral, stone, brick and mortar walls is still ongoing.

This huge Hindu temple, crowned by a towering god-encrusted, golden-ochre gopuram, is one of the most significant Hindu religious complexes in Sri Lanka. Its sacred deity is Murugan (or Skanda), and during cacophonous puja – at 5am, 10am, noon, 4.15pm (small puja), 4.30pm (‘special’ puja), 5pm and 6.45pm – offerings are made to his brass-framed image and other Hindu deities like Ganesh in shrines surrounding the inner sanctum. It's about 1.5km northeast of the centre.

The kovil’s current structure dates from 1734, and its huge compound shelters decorative brasswork, larger-than-life murals, pillared halls and a colonnaded, stepped holy pool.

Several friendly priests, some of whom speak English, can answer questions about the temple and its traditions. Visitors must remove their shoes; men need to remove their shirts as well.

You can also say a prayer at the sacred tree in the temple’s southern courtyard anytime: get a piece of gold-threaded cloth from outside the temple, wrap some coins in it, and tie it to the tree along with a prayer. Afterwards, ring the big brass bell.

The temple is the focus of the enormous and spectacular Nallur Festival in midsummer.