Jaffna

The place

The cultural heart of Sri Lanka's Tamil north - a peninsula of palmyra palms, causeways and islands that feels distinct from the rest of the island. Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil's golden gopuram anchors the city, and its August festival is one of Asia's great temple celebrations.

Jaffna rewards the curious: the star-shaped Dutch fort, the library risen from its own ashes, ice-cold crab curry, and ferries to Nainativu's sacred sites. It adds a whole new register to a Sri Lanka journey - best woven in on the way to the east coast.