Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam and earlier known as Yalpanapattinam. A 15th-century inscription of the Vijayanagara Empire mentions the place as Yalpaanayanpaddinam.
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
In December 2004 the city was hit by a large tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake in the Indian Ocean near Indonesia that caused widespread death and destruction.
Jaffna’s suburb Nallur served as the capital of the four-century-long medieval Jaffna Kingdom.
Megalithic excavations reveal settlements of an early period in this region.
The estimated population of Jaffna is 88,138.
Since 2017 an express ferry service connects Jaffna with Delft islands.
Jaffna is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name.
Jaffna is twinned with Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States & Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom.
The primary railway station in the city is the Jaffna Railway Station.
Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war, it was Sri Lanka’s second most populated city after the commercial capital Colombo.
Jaffna city was founded as a trading town by European merchants.
Jaffna is Sri Lanka’s 12th largest city.
The city is surrounded by Jaffna Lagoon to its west and south, Kokkuvil and Thirunelveli to the north, and Nallur to the east.
Jaffna has 160 km of coastline and is almost completely surrounded by ocean.
