Buddhist, Hindu and Vedda shrines built around the sacred Menik Ganga river in the deep south. The Esala festival in July and August involves fire-walking and acts of devotion performed for devotion rather than audience, a different experience from attending a cultural show. The oil lamps reflected in the river at dusk are one of Sri Lanka’s most striking images.
Nallur Kovil, Jaffna
The most important Hindu temple in Sri Lanka - at the spiritual heart of the Tamil north
A towering Dravidian gopuram in the tradition of great South Indian temple architecture, in Jaffna at the northern tip of the island. The evening puja fills the outer courtyard with conch shells, oil lamps and sacred ash. During the 25-day Nallur festival in August, it becomes one of the most intense pilgrimage concentrations in South Asia.
