Published on : Thursday, July 21, 2016
Khiri Travel has launched pioneering 4-day/3-night trips to Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. The groundbreaking travel experiences are now available in an area still healing its wounds after a civil war that lasted until 2009.
With the area now peaceful and returning to normal, Khiri Travel says the time is right to start sharing the historical, cultural and culinary attractions of the area with guests who will travel by train, bicycle, jeep and catamaran.
Visitors can now easily combine Jaffna peninsula with existing mainstream tourism sites in Sri Lanka, as the Queen of Jaffna train departs from Anuradhapura in the country’s ‘Cultural Triangle,’ which is well known to tourists.
“Our aim is to share the wonderful seafood, curry, architecture, beaches and friendliness of the Jaffna people with guests who share a passion for discovery,” says Khiri Travel Sri Lanka General Manager Gonzalo Gil Lavedra, who inspected the area and created the trip.
“We are providing an itinerary that is not only groundbreaking in terms of the destination and experience, but has been designed with the people of Jaffna in mind,” he says.
On the first day, guests travel three hours by train from Anuradhapura to Jaffna, passing the dry landscape of the Vavuniya dotted with the occasional village. Much of the conflict took place here. In Jaffna town centre, guests stay in a new four-star hotel. After a delicious Tamil lunch, visitors ride bicycles to see a fort, churches, parks, temples, statue of the last king of Jaffna, the last king’s minister’s house, and more.
On the 2nd day guests wear a shalve or veddi to enter the Nallur Hindu temple where they receive a cultural history orientation and can try some Hatha Yoga moves. The guide will elaborate on Jaffna’s culture, the scars of war, similarities and differences with South Indian culture, and the considerable effects of migration and exile on the Jaffna region. After a lavish prawn curry lunch served on a banana leaf, guests visit temples and local attractions, with plenty of time to relax on Casuarina Beach.
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