Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE MILITARY & TOURISM IN THE NORTH
Sri Lanka has a heavily militarised society, particularly in the north of the country, which
was a war zone for decades and where 16 of the 19 army divisions are still stationed.
Since the end of the war in 2009, the military has taken over large chunks of coastal
land. The government considers this necessary to safeguard national security; protest
groups deem many actions land grabs for profiteering. What's not in dispute is that villa-
gers have been removed from their ancestral land and the military is increasingly involved
in tourism in the north.
Some hotels such as
Fort Hammenhiel
are located on well-established military bases
and are less contentious. Others, including the
Thalsevana Resort
(
www.thalsevanaresort.com
)
near Kankesanturai in the Jaffna peninsula, have been built on
land previously held by villagers.
The Navy controls all ferry services around Jaffna's islands and boat trips to Adam's
Bridge off Mannar. Airline
Helitours
is owned and operated by the Sri Lankan Air Force.
Where possible, we have attempted to indicate which businesses are military-owned.
Neduntivu (Delft)
The intriguing, windswept island of Neduntivu (Delft) is 10km across the water southwest
of KKD on Punkudutivu island. Around 6000 people live here, but it feels deserted, with
dirt roads running through coconut-palm groves, aquamarine water and white sand, and a
rich diversity of flora that includes neem, a rare, ancient
baobab tree
, and vines that you
can swing from. Hundreds of field-dividing walls are hewn from chunks of brain and fan
corals while Delft ponies descended from Dutch mounts roam barren fields edged by
rocky coral shores. There is a
giant rock
that is said to be growing and is therefore wor-
shipped, and a small, very ruined
Dutch fort
a short walk from the ferry dock.
Manal Kanuttadi
is a pretty beach 1km from the dock where you could camp with per-
mission from the Navy. (There's a small shop near the dock selling water and snacks but
little in the way of real food available.)
In 2011 Basil Rajapaksa (the president's brother and economic development minister)
announced plans to 'beautify the island into a magnificient tourist attraction' with new re-
sorts and roads. However, there's been no movement on this as yet (possibly as Neduntivu
is a military-declared High Security Zone).
