When you hear this name for the first time then you think it’s located in America. Does this sound familiar? Yes of course most of the people think it’s a foreign island because the sound of the name create that imagination. I also think it’s a foreign island. But Actually the Delft Island is in Jaffna. Don’t you expect this? Right? Yes it’s a mind-blowing island with magic things. Again you surprise. Is it? Delft is an island like places coming in a fairy tale story or Jurassic Park. But don’t worry there is no any dangerous animals, but simply it’s an island village around 8km length and 50km2 area.
Delft is called as Nedunteevu in the local. You can clearly see in the map, there’s an oval shape island is there on the west part of the top. Nedunteevu is a flat island with the shallow waters and beaches of coral chunks and sand. Especially here you can feel like a magic village. Here you can see a desert is surrounded by sea in the afternoon, In the morning you feel it’s a cold place with beaches, In the night it’s become actually a foreign beaches with night camping and parties. Not only that you can visit more than 10 special places in this island.
Travel to Delft
First you have to travel to Jaffna town then from there you can get a bus to Kurikadduvan. In Kurikadduvan (kkd) you can have ferry to Delft. Morning 8 and 9.30 am there are FOC service for Navy that’s free. If you go early you can catch that. Also there 1.30 pm (80/=), 3 pm (60/=) and again 4 pm FOC Service are available. If you plan for day trip better you can take 8 am free service. So make your schedule according to that. From Jaffna to kkd nearly 1 hour bus travelling are there. Again kkd to delft 1 hour ferry travelling, so make your trip plan according to it. If you plan to stay night there it’s better way to enjoy maximum the island beauty.
You have ferry service from delft to kkd morning 6 am (60/=), 7.30 am (FOC), 11.30 am (80/=), 2.30 pm (FOC) and last 4.30 pm (FOC). Better you can plan in the week days and avoid special holidays like New Year. Because if you plan normal days you can enjoy without any trouble.
You can get vehicle services in the Delft. According to your numbers you can hire three wheelers, Jeep and vans are there. You don’t need to have a guide behind the boat tickets and a big banner in the island have the details about that places.
Make sure your boat travelling in the morning or evening time then you can guarantee to enjoy the boating and sea view. The water of that see are very crystal clear water. You can enjoy the morning and evening beauty of the sky also.
After the 1 hour boat journey you can enter the magic island. When you enter the delft its look like a desert. It’s a different experience you never enjoy it before. Better you hire a vehicle and then you can go further. Delft has about 4500 people whose main occupation is fishing. There are many Palmyra trees it’s providing shade throughout your journey. You can find many corals most of the island and coral walls also there.
Portuguese Fort
You can visit to a very old fort that is smaller than Galle fort or any other forts. It’s made with coral and limestone. That’s the reason still it has been located on that place. The pillars and walls left preserved highlighted that the fort was a two-store building. The ground floor has no windows, and it is said to have been used to store gunpowder and hold prisoners, while the second floor was built with windows for light and ventilation with large rooms.
The entrance to the fort is through a passage next to the Old Dutch Hospital, which is well-preserved and showed the skills of the Portuguese, Dutch and the British, who used the facility. The hospital, too, is made from coral and limestone and its status questions modern-day construction.
Pigeon House
It’s the most eye-catching sight which be the residence for over 2 dozens of pigeons that were used to transport messages across island, ships and the mainland. Nowadays it’s very rare to see like these ancient communication styles. You must tell the story with evidence to your children in this place. The pigeon house looks like a temple and fantastically build.
Queen’s Tower
Does this names make you crazy? Yes of course there are still many different places to watch. Queen’s Tower was used as a navigation landmark by the Dutch. The tower is covered by a reflective surface, which could be seen a distance away from sea. In this island many parts are surrounded by a coral walls. The corals placed one on top of another, the wall had been built with no mortal to bind each stone. The walls are strong and had a height of around 4 metres.
40 feet man’s Footprint
When you enter the horse stable you can see another mind blowing thing is a giant footstep which is close to 1 m in length. It’s like the magical village in the movies and fairy tales. The natives believe the footprint engraved into a stone is from a man who was around 40 feet in height. According to the residents, there was a similar footprint on a nearby island, Nainathivu.
Wild Ponies & Old Horse Stable
After passing the footprint you can arrive the horse stables used by Portuguese, Dutch and British to breed horses, which were then sold to passing vessels or transported to the mainland for needs. The wild horse old stable is the historic location which is used in the Colonial Period. Now you can see only the remains of the stable, the strong pillars.
Further into the island, travelers arrive to a ground of wild horses, bigger than a pony but smaller than the average horse. Five-hundreds of these wild beasts roam the plains. The sight was breathtaking as the animals in their natural habitat were fascinating. The only ground to hold horses in Sri Lanka, the locals believes that the beasts were descendent of those released by the Dutch.
The Sri Lankan government had implemented a law restricting the removal of the magnificent beasts from the island.
Baobab Tree
Then you can arrive at the largest tree in the Delft Island. Standing gloriously was a 52-foot hollow trunk, which could easily house three people inside; the entrance in to the trunk was the size of two men. Baobab, also known as Adansonia, is a genus of nine species of tree, out of which six are native to Madagascar, two native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and one native to Australia. One species of African origin was introduced to some Asian countries during the Colonial Era, and the Delft baobab is believed to be one such introduction.
Ruins of ancient stupas
There are ruins of 3 ancient stupas partially restored by the archaeological department close to the the north western coast of Delft Island. The largest of the three stupas has a diameter of 13.54 meters and circumference of 31.93 meters. 3 inscriptions has been discovered on the stones used to pave this stupa. According to scientific data of the scripts the two Tamil inscriptions belong to the 14 – 15 centuries while the inscription having Brahmi script would date back to the 1st or 2nd century according to calligraphists.
The local villagers live very harmony. Delft is a Tamil area. All local preserve the ancient rich history, heritage, archaeological values and culture in this magnificent island. Government must take more protective laws and development to maintenance these priceless island.
Accomadations
There are many small lodges also a main star restaurant. Delft Samudra is the best restaurant to stay. You can get all varieties if food and drinks here. You can get comfortable rooms and facilities here. But the prices are little bit expensive because all the things are taken from the outside of the island in the boat every day.
Therefore the Delft Island is the priceless gift of nature to Sri Lanka. There are many historical and ancient architectural remains to the evidence of our past. We must protect that island as a tourist we have the responsibility to keep the environment clean. So guys do you now have the idea about Delft Island? How many of you plan for to Delft Trip? Does my blog make any sense to you? Let me know the ideas about you in the comments below.
