Out of bounds

I needed to dig a bit deeper to find out what to look out for and the best way to travel this leg. Mullaitivu is set north east of the island. It’s the town where the Sri Lankan army defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009 in what was one of the greatest military showdowns of modern times. This coastal stretch would’ve been out of bounds, or at least highly inadvisable for overseas visitors to travel to, for almost three decades. The parallel central road north, the A9, was for a long time considered one of the bloodiest roads in the world. Post 2009 though, huge reconstruction work has taken place to rebuild the devastated, mostly Tamil towns, leaving little evidence now of the 25 year war aftermath.

I’ll need a driver and guide for this part of my journey and preferably one with a rifle! It’s not really a section to do on foot and certainly not alone. For a start, freely roaming wild animals – elephants, crocodiles, leopards and more – and where are the surviving Tigers hiding! This region was after all a Tiger stronghold.

Nilaveli

Nilaveli looks like it could be my first stop north of Trincomolee. It appears to be a modest but up and coming beach resort with whale and dolphin-watching being its key attractions. The town now features in the 2019 Dorling Kindersley guide book, although it hardly gets a mention in my 2013 Rough Guide and described there as ‘moribund’. However, there is Pigion Island, just 1km off the coast of Nilaveli which since 2003 has been a national park. The island is said to contain some of the best remaining coral reefs of Sri Lanka along with sea turtles and reef sharks.

Close by there’s Uppuveli which looks worth visiting for the Commonwealth War Cemetery. This holds the graves of 362 service personnel who died in Ceylon during World War II. The Victorian explorer, Sir James Emerson Tennent, who I referred to in an earlier blog, stopped in Nilaveli during his mid 19th century exploration. In his detailed account of Ceylon, in his book of that name, he talks about ‘passing the night in a rest house’ here.

Kokalai and the importance of the tanks

Further north still is Kokalai, a Tamil village, about half way between Trincomolee and Mullaitivu. This was a smuggling area, set with coves and black sand deeply impregnated with iron. Contraband trade entered here from India and was taken on through the jungle paths as far as Kandy.

The lake at Kokalai is formed from the great Padaviya tank which Tennent described as being ‘infested with malaria as to render it dangerous to pass the night there.’ Now Sri Lanka has shifted from being one of the world’s most malaria-affected countries as it was in the mid-20th century to being malaria-free, as declared by the WHO in 2016.

And then there’s the ebony tree which I’d like to find as they are native to only a few countries, including Sri Lanka. The ebony wood is one of the most expensive in the world due to its distinctive blackness and mirror-finish when polished.

Mullaittivu

We can see from the map that there doesn’t appear to be a main road for the final part of this leg – it just looks like a minor one from Pulmoddai to Mullaitivu. Cherry Briggs in her travel account, Teardrop Island, travelled this section in 2010 just a year after the 25 year civil war ended. As she arrived in Mullaitivu, she ‘quickly realised there was no reason to stay’, due to the devastated centre, heavily militarised and unfriendly presence. I wonder what Mullaitivu will be like over 10 years later, and if there’s enough here now to make me wish to break by journey by ‘passing the night in a rest house’ like Tennent did.

Next up – Leg 7 – Mullaitivu to Jaffna via Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass (approx 62km)

Recap on previous Leg 5 – Polonnaruwa to Trincomolee via Habarana