Kayts, Leiden or Velanai depending on whether you’re British, Dutch or Tamil, is one of the islands off Jaffna’s mainland that you get to by driving or cycling over a 21km causeway, or in our case by walking. It’s had a colourful history: Portuguese occupation from 1619 and the building of the main fort in 1629 to being lost to the Dutch in the late 1600s and then the British a hundred or so years’ later in 1796. Its modern history is marred by violence; during Sri Lanka’s Civil War when the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) occupied it, there was a major massacre in the town of Alaipiddy, just three years before the war’s bloody end in 2009.

Many people fled Kayts island during the war leaving their homes which now remain as ruins with Banyan trees having eating their way into them. Now though, whilst the remains of the buildings and fortifications are there, including many Catholic churches which are still functional from the Portuguese and Dutch times, it feels peaceful yet raw, remote and relaxed and so off the beaten track we must have stood out like the foreigners we are. 

As we trekked across the Pennai causeway we stopped to photograph birds we spied – a pied kingfisher, a brakmini kite, a painted stork and a white trot kingfisher. They were quite amazing to see above the shallow waters of the lagoons surrounding the marshy wetlands. 

On visiting a few of the churches we met in one a group of children in Bible study. Thinking we may interrupt a Mass as it was about 11am, we soon realised it was all over by 7am. It was almost 40 degrees today. 

We finished with a swim in Palk Bay off the south coast of the island along with some of the locals. 

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Next up: Heading south over Elephant Pass towards Kilinochchi

Last blog: Around Jaffna