Getting around : Northern Province Tourism

By Air

Jaffna International Airport (IATA: JAF, ICAO: VCCJ) is an international airport serving northern Sri Lanka. The airport is located in the town of Palaly near Kankesanthurai, 13 km North of the city of Jaffna. The airport was originally built by the Royal Air Force during World War II, after which it functioned as the country's second international airport.

The inaugural flight by the Air Ceylon on 10 December 1947 was conducted from Ratmalana to Madras via Kankasanturai (Palaly) and the airport facilitated domestic flights to Ratmalana and international flights to South India.

The renovated airport was opened on 17 October 2019. The arrival of an Alliance Air ATR 72-600 aircraft from Chennai carrying airline officials and journalists signalled the inauguration of Jaffna International airport.

Some airlines are providing charter services between Colombo (Ratmalana) airport and Jaffna Airport. But Heli Tours operates schedule flights between these two destinations on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For more information, please visit http://www.helitours.lk

By Train

Sri Lanka Railways operates passenger services on the Northern line, the most notable service on the line being the "Yarl Devi". Major named services that use the line include "Uththara Devi", "Sri Devi" and "Mantha Vahini". The northern line is a railway line in Sri Lanka. Branching off the Main Line at Polgahawela Junction the line heads North through North Western, North Central and Northern provinces before terminating at the northern port of Kankesanthurai. The route serves as a backbone for the country's rail services with other lines branching out from it. The Mannar Line branch off from the Northern line at Medawachchiya, to serve Mannar and Talaimannar. The route mainly runs through open country, across the North Central plains. At Elephant Pass, it crosses the lagoon to enter the Jaffna peninsula.

Train leave from Jaffna Railway station to Colombo:

Your Station	Arrival Time	Departure Time	Destination / Time	End Station / Time	Frequency	Name	Type
JAFFNA	04:00:00	04:05:00	COLOMBO FORT 10:24:00	COLOMBO FORT 10:24:00	DAILY	SRI DEVIE	INTERCITY
Available Classes: 1st Class , 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 10:24:00			Train No: 4004

JAFFNA	05:56:00	06:10:00	COLOMBO FORT 12:55:00	COLOMBO FORT 12:55:00	DAILY	UTTARA DEVI	INTERCITY
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 12:55:00			Train No: 4018

JAFFNA	06:25:00	06:25:00	COLOMBO FORT 16:00:00	COLOMBO FORT 16:00:00	Trial Basis	Trial Basis	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 16:00:00			Train No: 4082

JAFFNA	09:02:00	09:35:00	COLOMBO FORT 18:35:00	COLOMBO FORT 18:32:00	DAILY	YAL DEVI	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 1st Class , 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 18:35:00			Train No: 4078

JAFFNA	13:32:00	13:45:00	COLOMBO FORT 20:00:00	COLOMBO FORT 20:00:00	DAILY	INTERCITY	INTERCITY
Available Classes: 1st Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 20:00:00			Train No: 4022

JAFFNA	18:16:00	18:40:00	COLOMBO FORT 04:00:00	COLOMBO FORT 04:00:00	Trial Basis	Trial Bsis	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 04:00:00			Train No: 4088

JAFFNA	21:05:00	21:15:00	COLOMBO FORT 05:52:00	COLOMBO FORT 05:52:00	DAILY	Night Mail	Night Mail Train
Available Classes: 1st Class , 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 05:52:00			Train No: 4090

Train leave from Colombo Fort to Jaffna (Kankesanthurai):

Your Station	Arrival Time	Departure Time	Destination / Time	End Station / Time	Frequency	Name	Type
COLOMBO FORT	05:35:00	05:45:00	KANKESANTHURAI 12:17:00	JAFFNA 11:51:00	DAILY	A.C. - INTERCITY	A.C. - INTERCITY
Available Classes: 1st Class			Train ends at KANKESANTHURAI at 12:17:00			Train No: 4021

COLOMBO FORT	06:17:00	06:35:00	KANKESANTHURAI 15:20:00	JAFFNA 14:37:00	DAILY	YAL DEVI	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at KANKESANTHURAI at 15:20:00			Train No: 4077

COLOMBO FORT	08:50:00	08:50:00	JAFFNA 18:31:00	JAFFNA 18:31:00	Trial Basis	TRIAL BASIS	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at JAFFNA at 18:31:00			Train No: 4080

COLOMBO FORT	11:50:00	11:50:00	KANKESANTHURAI 18:47:00	JAFFNA 18:15:00	DAILY	uttara devi	A.C. - INTERCITY
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at KANKESANTHURAI at 18:47:00			Train No: 4017

COLOMBO FORT	15:55:00	15:55:00	KANKESANTHURAI 22:16:00	JAFFNA 21:57:00	DAILY	SRI DEVIE	INTERCITY
Available Classes: 1st Class , 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at KANKESANTHURAI at 22:16:00			Train No: 4003

COLOMBO FORT	19:15:00	19:15:00	JAFFNA 04:25:00	JAFFNA 04:25:00	Trial Basis	Trial Basis	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at JAFFNA at 04:25:00			Train No: 4087

COLOMBO FORT	21:00:00	21:00:00	KANKESANTHURAI 06:05:00	JAFFNA 04:48:00	DAILY	Mail	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at KANKESANTHURAI at 06:05:00			Train No: 4089

Train leave from Thalaimannar Pier to Colombo:

Your Station	Arrival Time	Departure Time	Destination / Time	End Station / Time	Frequency	Name	Type
THALAIMANNAR PIER	07:30:00	07:30:00	COLOMBO FORT 16:05:00	COLOMBO FORT 16:05:00	DAILY	5868	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class, 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 16:05:00			Train No: 5868

THALAIMANNAR PIER	21:25:00	21:25:00	COLOMBO FORT 06:00:00	COLOMBO FORT 06:00:00	DAILY	YAL DEVI	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at COLOMBO FORT at 06:00:00			Train No: 4077

Train leave from Colombo to Thalaimannar Pier:

Your Station	Arrival Time	Departure Time	Destination / Time	End Station / Time	Frequency	Name	Type
COLOMBO FORT	08:50:00	08:50:00	THALAIMANNAR PIER17:45:00	THALAIMANNAR PIER 17:45:00	DAILY	5452	LONG DISTANCE
Available Classes: 2nd Class, 3rd Class			Train ends at THALAIMANNAR PIER at 17:45:00			Train No: 5452

COLOMBO FORT	19:15:00	19:15:00	THALAIMANNAR PIER 03:35:00	THALAIMANNAR PIER 03:35:00	DAILY	5067	EXPRESS TRAIN
Available Classes: 1st Class, 2nd Class , 3rd Class			Train ends at THALAIMANNAR PIER at 03:35:00			Train No: 5067

By Land

There are two bus routes are being operated by Public and Private Bus service providers, such as:

Route Number 15:

Colombo --> Warakapola --> Kurunagala --> Dambulla --> Mihintale --> Methawachchiya --> Vavuniya --> Kilinochchi --> Jaffna

Route Number 87:

Colombo --> Chilaw --> Puttalam --> Anuradhapura --> Methawachchiya --> Vavuniya --> Kilinochchi --> Jaffna

Route Number 4:

Colombo --> Chilaw --> Puttalam --> Anuradhapura --> Methawachchiya --> Cheddikulam --> Murunkan --> Mannar Town

Within Northern Province Route:

Vavuniya to Mullaitivu:

Vavuniya (along A9 road) --> Puliyankulam (along B296 road) --> Mulliyawalai (along A34) --> Mullaitivu

Vavuniya (along A9 road) --> Puliyankulam (along A9 road) --> Mankulam (along A34 road) --> Oddusuttan (along A34 road) --> Mullaitivu

Vavuniya to Mannar:

Vavuniya (along A30 road) --> Parayanalankulam (along A14) --> Murunkan (along A14) --> Mannar Town

Jaffna to Mullaitivu:

Jaffna (along A9 road) --> Chavakachcheri (along A9 road) --> Kodikamam (along A9 road) --> Paranthan (along A35 road) --> Puthukkudiyiruppu (along A35 road) --> Mullaitivu

Jaffna to Mannar:

Jaffna (along A9 road) --> Navatkuli (along A32 road) --> Poonagary (along A32 road) --> Mulankavil (along A32 road) --> Vellankulam (along A32 road) --> Mannar Town

Jaffna to Kilinochchi:

Jaffna (along A9 road) --> Chavakachcheri (along A9 road) --> Kodikamam (along A9 road) --> Paranthan (along A9 road) --> Kilinochchi

Public Bus transport services are being provided by National Transport Commission. For long trip seat bookings, please visit: http://www.ntcbooking.lk/ or visit https://www.ntc.gov.lk/index.php
In addition, there are several private bus services available daily between Colombo and Jaffna.

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