Facts About Jaffna
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Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam and earlier known as Yalpanapattinam. A 15th-century inscription of the Vijayanagara Empire mentions the place as Yalpaanayanpaddinam.
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Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
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In December 2004 the city was hit by a large tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia that caused widespread death and destruction.
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Jaffna’s suburb Nallur served as the capital of the four-century-long medieval Jaffna Kingdom.
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Megalithic excavations reveal settlements of an early period in this region.
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The estimated population of Jaffna is 88,138.
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Since 2017 an express ferry service connects Jaffna with Delft islands.
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Jaffna is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name.
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Jaffna is twinned with Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States & Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom.
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The primary railway station in the city is the Jaffna Railway Station.
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Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war, it was Sri Lanka’s second most populated city after the commercial capital Colombo.
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Jaffna city was founded as a trading town by European merchants.
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Jaffna is Sri Lanka’s 12th largest city.
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The city is surrounded by Jaffna Lagoon to its west and south, Kokkuvil and Thirunelveli to the north, and Nallur to the east.
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Jaffna has 160 km of coastline and is almost completely surrounded by ocean.
