We started in the morning around six thirty and headed towards Negombo. We traveled in a 4×4 Hilux pickup and had all what was needed such as several cans of water food items and other necessary supplements. From Paliyagoda we traveled along the A3 highway.

At Wenappuwa we had our breakfast and we went to the Chilaw rest house for a cup of tea. By 10.30 am we were at Puttalam. As it was a poya day the roads were peaceful and we made it to Puttalam sooner than we thought. It was in Puttlam that we realized that we would have no lunch. From Puttlam there was no major town until we reached Mannar and no place in Puttalam had lunch by 10.30. We had no option but to proceed.

The entire route of our trip in on the map

Crossing the kala oya by a cause way to reach the Willpattu NP.

The old mannar road through the Willpattu NP.

A deer we spoted near a water hole in Willpattu NP

This is a new distance board we came across just after exiting the Willpattu NP

The road we had to take to Silavatura since we exit the Willpattu NP.

The landscape in this area was totally different than else where in the island. The landscape was similar to Africa with isolated trees within every 100m.

By the time we reached Silavatura it was passes 1.00 pm and we need lunch badly. For our luck we had some pieces of Kiribath wrapped in a olu leaf, which we got from a dansala on our way. That went great for our lunch. Our next destination was the Doric at Arripu. This was the house of the first British governor, Fredric North.

The Doric and its tower.	A view from inside the Doric.
The Doric from a distance	The road from Arripu to Vankalai.

The road from vankalai to Mannar

On day two we decided to visit talaimannar but due to security reasons we could not see the adams bridge. The talaimannar beach is good for bathing. Thereafter we visited the Portuguese fort in mannar and explored the Mannar town. We had our meals at a local restaurant. It was supposed to be the best in Mannar and had cooks from India. Thus the food was really good, espically the dinner which was Tosai. In the evening we went to the Vankalai beach ( 3 km from Mannar ) which is also supposed to be good for bathing spot.

Talaimannar beach – very calm in the morning	The road from Talaimannar to Mannar
Some Donkeys at the Pasali town	A tree with a unique structure
A good view of the Mannar Fort	From inside the Fort

One of the many verses found on the walls and floors of the Fort. But none of them were in English and in another language, probably Portuguese.

A colorful vegetation found by the side of the beach at Vankalai

The Vankalai beach at sunset

On the third day we were to reach Jaffna via Pooneyrn along the A30 highway and then along the A9. As we were aware of the remote towns that were to be passed through [with a scarcity of food] we took along some short eats with us, which eventually became our Lunch. Here again there is no major town until you reach Chavakachcharia.

In this route the condition of the road was extremely bad, severely weathered roads until the A9. During our tour we traveled from Mannar to Pooneryn and then to Paranthan to follow the A9 to Jaffna. As the army is constructing the bridge from Pooneryn to Jaffna, in a couple of months one could proceed directly from Pooneryn to Jaffna along the A30 highway. This will be really a short cut from Pooneryn to Jaffna. However this stretch was something different. This section was under the control of the LTTE for a very long time and it was really remote area. Compared to the rest of the trip there were more army camps and ofcourse checking. The towns such as lluppaikkadavai, Vellankulam, Pooneryn which were once said to big towns were very remote with no facilities at all. We identified some towns merely seeing the police/army camp and the post office which was a building about to collapse. There were a few shops with display boardsl written in Tamil.

Pooneryn was a little bigger city, than the rest on this stretch. It had a number of shops, a three-wheeler park, playground ( park ) for little children and finally a buddhist temple constructed by the army. One sight which I would never forget was a school ( cant remember name ) had no roof at all. The walls were Ok but two big buildings hadn’t a roof and had children taking classes. There were many children and some were taking classes under a tree. This stretch was really really hot. Although this stretch was considerably harder than the rest of the journey there’s something worth seeing. Something that you wont be seeing in any other part of Sri Lanka.

lluppaikkadavai town in the background	The road from lluppaikkadavai to Vellankulam
to Pooneyrn – Thick jungle”]	Pooneyrn town. This memorial constructed by the army after regaining from LTTE
Pooneyrn Buddhist temple	Pooneyrn Fort

On our fourth Day we visited the Nagadeepa temple and some other places around Jaffna

Nagadeepa island jetty

Nagadeepa temple

The Nagadeepa stupa	Denzel Kobbakaduwa memorial
Kandaroadi ancient temples	Nallur temple

On our final day we traveled along the A9 to Colombo. At Muhamalai we spotted some trees blown off due to the intense fighting. Muhamalai was the ex-defense line.

The damaged trees at Muhamalai

Mines at Muhamalai

The army memorial where all four army divisions met and got together for the final battle. The four hands represent the four army divisions. This was at Elephant pass.

A army memorial at Killinochchi.