Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
something modest. Jaffna buses/minibuses are Rs 30 to the spring, or get a three-wheeler
from the Tellippalai bus stand for Rs 350/600 one way/round trip.
If you're heading east after Keerimalai you'll have to first return south along the AB16
highway to Chunnakam before you can cut across via Puttur towards Valvettiturai and
tur.
For a more scenic drive, consider heading west along the newly upgraded coastal road
from Keerimalai spring, which hugs a palm-fringed shoreline. There are no real sights this
way, but the scenery is sublime, with a sparkling ocean offshore. Inevitably there are also
plenty of reminders of the war, including bombed churches and battle-ravaged buildings.
The navy now occupies a lot of the coastal land in these parts, and is busy developing a
couple of hotels for tourism. At the tiny settlement of Ponnalai, 16km from Keerimalai,
you reach the causeway for the island of Karainagar.
Valvettiturai
On the way to Valvettiturai (VVT) is the charming, waterfront
Selvachannithy Murugan
Like so many places on the peninsula it was severely damaged during the war, but today
the important Murugan temple is a scenic stop, with a lively
puja
.
The gorgeous coast road leads east to VVT, once a rich smuggling town but now most
famous as the birthplace of LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran. Known for his ex-
traordinary ruthlessness, charisma and single-minded strength of purpose, Prabhakaran's
personality was considered by many to be the reason that the LTTE - of all the militant
Tamil-rights groups that emerged in the 1970s - rose to prominence. Prabhakaran's death
was reported during the final days of the war.
Today there's nothing left of the Prabhakaran family home which the army demolished
in 2010, an action which many observers thought was to prevent it from becoming a tour-
ist attraction, or even a kind of shrine.
