Perched right on the northern tip of Sri Lanka, the city of Jaffna is the historical home of Tamil culture on the island. Now just emerging from decades of conflict, it still bears the scars of a long and tumultuous war, while the serene silhouettes of Vimana Hindu spires and mysterious peristyle temples that loom high on the skyline are now keeping watch over the city’s rebirth, and slow re-emergence onto the Sri Lankan tourist trail.

That means that between the ruins of homes and churches, the Nallur Temple and the Nagadipa Purana Vihara are still veritable ‘must-sees’, famed for their exquisite and authentic fusion of Tamil architecture, or wealth of revered Buddhist shrines respectively. History buffs may also want to head for the confines of the Jaffna Fort, to the renovated Library nearby, or the leafy streets of the old Dutch cum British colonial port area. Jaffna tour guides are also proud of their city’s position close to some of the best beaches on Sri Lanka’s northern coast, with the laid back Casuarina Beach, and the untouched sand stretches of Delft Island lingering just on the peripheries.