MAGIC MOMENTS IN NORTHERN SRI LANKA: A JOURNEY THROUGH TRINCOMALEE, JAFFNA, MANNAR & WILPATTU

Magic Moments and the Joy of Travel

Magic moments… That’s not only the name of a famous Perry Como song, it also represents a kind of ambition. At least for some of us. The kind of people who would like to enjoy at least one magic moment every time they leave their front door. Magic moments are partly what these articles are about and they are certainly a thing most of us want to experience while we are travelling or on holiday.

Koneswaram Temple, Trincomalee

Exploring Northern Sri Lanka

Which is why I was thinking about the concept the other day, sitting on a bus as it trundled into the northern half of Sri Lanka. The lovely island - sometimes known as the Teardrop of the Indian Ocean - is a game of two halves. Southern and central Sri Lanka represents one of the most beautiful and scenic places on Earth, but the north is nowhere near as pretty. Not only is much of it flat, but you are also treated to regular reminders of the recent civil war in which an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people died.

So you need magic moments in such a place, and fortunately Sri Lanka is full of them.

Discovering Trincomalee: Sherlock Holmes and the Atkinson Brothers

The first dose of enchantment hit me after we had driven across the isle to its east coast and the exotic old seaside town of Trincomalee. I had wanted to visit this jolly-sounding port ever since reading about the obscure Atkinson brothers of Trincomalee, who are mentioned in a Sherlock Holmes story. An example of what Sherlockians call the “casual reference” or “untold tale” where either Holmes or Watson allude to a case that the reader never actually learns the details of.

Wild deer mix with pilgrims, Trincomalee

“From time to time,” writes Watson in a Scandal in Bohemia, “I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee…”

So for years I’ve wondered: what was the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers and where on earth is Trincomalee?

Then, suddenly a couple of weeks ago, there I was, wandering through its streets. Not that the Sherlockian puzzle absorbed me for long - because suddenly I was walking up through vast trees towards one of the most holy headlands to be found anywhere in the Tropics. Wild deer, monkeys and feral dogs strolled among the crowds of pilgrims and worshippers as though the whole colourful shenanigans had gone on for many centuries. Which it has.

The Magic of Swami Rock and Koneswaram Temple

But even after the extreme magic and mystery of the place had begun to lose its first novelty shock, I was to splutter with delight at the sight of a male peacock fanning its tail-feathers at the edge of a sea-cliff. Somehow, there above the Indian Ocean, amid the mad frenetic sights and sounds and the heady aromas of incense, there was this mystical bird posing like some massively confident social media influencer, on the edge of a rock somewhat inevitably known as Lover’s Leap. Colourful and exotic in the extreme, nowhere in Europe would you ever see anything like this.

The peninsula is known as Swami Rock and it plays host to the Koneswaram Temple (also known as "Temple of the Thousand Pillars”), which is one of Sri Lanka's most revered Hindu shrines, with origins tracing back to before 400 BCE. Apparently visitors often talk about the temple’s overwhelming sense of awe and spiritual energy. The air is filled with mesmerising sounds of chanting, drums, horns and bells, particularly during the daily pooja (prayer service) which was taking place while we were there. Bare-chested men ran about lighting candles and scattering petals. For me, a non-believer on the religious front, it was a powerful experience.

A Luxury Stay at Amaranthé Bay Resort & Spa

I was in need of a drink by the time we reached the lovely Amaranthé Bay Resort & Spa just north of town. Located on the banks of a palm strewn estuary this is an excellent luxury getaway - my large suite had its own sunken jacuzzi and we enjoyed a truly excellent dinner in the large air-conditioned restaurant. It all comes very well packaged indeed at the present nightly rate of less than £90 a night (per couple, with B&B).

Amaranthé Bay Resort & Spa

The Long Road to Jaffna via Elephant Pass

Our travels next day proved to be less than magical. We drove for hours to the far north of Sri Lanka into Tamil country and the regional capital, Jaffna. Which actually is a magical city, but the road to it can be rather drab in tropical rain. The only stop we made was at Elephant Pass, a place on a low causeway where several crucial battles were fought during the civil war. This site controls access to the Jaffna Peninsula. During one skirmish between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) a heavily armoured bulldozer was loaded with explosives and set rolling towards the defending government troops - a death machine that was reportedly halted by the heroic actions of a Corporal Gamini Kularatne who gave his life to save many 100s of his comrades.

The giant relic in the small memorial park acts as a sober reminder of this terrible war. A reminder which I for one needed. I say that because the people of Sri Lanka are the friendliest and happiest bunch I’ve encountered anywhere in the world, making it hard to believe that they were killing one another until relatively recently (the war ended in 2009).

Jaffna: A City of Surprising Friendliness

Which, in a way, makes Jaffna one big large loud and frenetic kind of magic moment. It is a rather lovely little city and I enjoyed staying at The Thinnai Hotel, located close to the centre of town.

Given the loss of life here during the conflict I thought there’d be the scars of war everywhere, but if you hadn’t been told there’d been a war you wouldn’t have known it. The city is as friendly a place as I’ve visited and I felt completely safe walking around, visiting the markets and talking to local people.

The Healing Springs of Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

We were taken on various excursions around the hot flat coastal region, riddled with lagoons, islands and bays. One magic moment place for me was the Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple, an ancient and highly revered Hindu site - one of the Pancha Ishwarams, the five historic Shiva temples on the island, holding immense religious significance for Hindu devotees worldwide.

Springs of Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

Why so impressed by yet another temple? Because of the people. It was a blisteringly hot Sunday morning and this coastal site was filled with local folk who’d come to bathe in the Keerimalai Springs, which are renowned for their supposed healing powers. The holy ponds have been carved out of stone just feet from the waves of the Indian Ocean, and the temple area has separate bathing areas for men and women.

The whole place had a happy holiday feel to it and, I noted, there was not a single doffing of a cap to any kind of commercialisation or the kind of omnipresent branding we endure in the West nowadays. I was going to say there was a wonderful innocence to the place, except for one thing. I noticed a surprising number of people in rickety homemade wheelchairs and the like. They had lost lower limbs - a fact which is perhaps not surprising in an area where land-mine-clearance is still going on years after the conflict.

The Donkeys of Mannar Peninsula

The flat northwest coast (famed for its delicious red shrimp) stretches 50 miles south of Jaffna down to the Mannar Peninsula, Sri Lanka’s closest point to its giant neighbour, India.

There used to be a gravel bank which linked the two countries across the shallow Palk Strait (now underwater but you can still see it from the air). A ferry service was in regular use linking train services from Madras to Colombo, but a 1964 cyclone not only killed many people, but also put paid to regular services. The link no longer exists (replaced by a high speed ferry to Jaffna) leaving the Mannar Peninsula in a peaceful limbo for its human residents and its donkeys.

Fort Hammenhiel, north Sri lanka

I say donkeys because this peninsula (and its surrounding area) is famous for them. Some 3000 of the little chaps live wild and, needless to say, they have been having a rough time in recent decades. Which is why we visited the Mannar Donkey Clinic and Education Centre, a small family-run charity manned by some of the most passionate animal-lovers it’s been my pleasure to meet. The team treat emaciated and injured animals and return them to the wild and also run numerous educative programmes. When I say tiny, by the way, I mean that the donkeys are the size of a large-to-medium sized family dog rather than the larger cousins we used to see on British beaches.

Mannar Donkey Clinic and Education Centre

Wildlife Wonders in Wilpattu National Park

Talking of animals living in the wild, our next visit was to the massive Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka’s largest protected area, sprawling over 131,000 hectares. Its name, "Land of Lakes," derives from the numerous "villu" – natural, sand-rimmed water basins that create unique ecosystems crucial for the park's diverse wildlife, especially during dry seasons.

Wilpattu National Park, "Land of Lakes

Wilpattu is renowned for its leopards and also hosts many other species, including the elusive Sri Lankan sloth bear, elephants, spotted deer, sambar, and mugger crocodiles.

deer in Wilpattu National Park

We, I am happy to report, spotted both a leopard and a rare black sloth bear (our guide had only seen four in 10 years). Which is just as well as the four hour jeep safari began more modestly with the driver stopping in great excitement to point to a bird. It turned out to be a chicken.

Sri Lankan black sloth bear

Relaxing at Anantaya Resort & Spa, Chilaw

Our tour of northern Sri Lanka was rounded off at the lovely Anantaya Resort and Spa at Chilaw on the west coast. This beachfront property, with its palm trees, giant pool and truly excellent food (the £10 curry lunch would have fed four in my family), was just what I needed for a quick battery recharge.

Anantaya Resort & Spa, Chilaw

And that is one of the wonderful things about Sri Lanka, there are plenty of affordable options for luxurious battery recharging - a B&B stay for two at the Anantaya would set you back just £33 each per night if you were there this week. An equivalent European hotel would be five times that.

Final Reflections: Magic Moments Abound in Sri Lanka

If I were attempting to roundup my adventures around Sri Lanka in just two words I’d go for “magic moments”. And lots and lots of them.

PANEL

Martin flew with Sri Lankan Airlines after booking meet and greet parking at Heathrow with the Holiday Extras group. Their system is cheap, quick and easy to use. https://www.holidayextras.com/

If you’re thinking of visiting Sri Lanka check out the official tourism department’s website - https://www.srilanka.travel/ - and do consider using our tour guides Blue Lanka Tours - https://www.bluelankatours.com/