Point Pedro
The northernmost point of Sri Lanka, a windy headland with an old lighthouse and a fishing town, marking the very tip of the island looking out to the Palk Strait.
At the very northernmost tip of Sri Lanka, Point Pedro carries a name derived from Portuguese colonial rule, a corruption of Ponta das Pedras, meaning point of rocks, a nod to its rugged, coral studded shoreline. Locally known in Tamil as Paruthithurai, meaning Cotton Harbour, the town served for centuries as a genuine trading hub, its harbor exporting locally grown cotton to South India, the surrounding fertile red soil proving particularly well suited to the crop.
Colonial history runs deep here too, Dutch missionary Philippus Baldaeus settled in the area following the Dutch occupation of Ceylon, documenting the customs and lives of Tamil communities in the north during the 17th century, while British influence later left behind a white lighthouse, built in 1916, still standing near the town's edge, now overshadowed by a modern telecommunications tower. The town endured its own difficult modern chapter too, falling briefly under LTTE control in the early 1990s before the Sri Lankan Army recaptured it in 1995.
Today, Sri Lanka's most northerly point is marked simply, a signpost, a display board and a monument proclaiming "Unity in Diversity is the Strength of Sri Lanka," erected since the war's end. The surrounding coastline stretches for miles, dramatic sand dunes rising up to 100 feet in places near the village of Manatkadu, where an abandoned old Catholic church, slowly swallowed by advancing dunes, adds a haunting, atmospheric footnote to a visit, fishermen still bringing in their daily catch along the same sandy, coral studded shore that's defined this remote corner of the island for centuries.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Free
- Opening hours: Daylight hours
- Time needed: 45 minutes to 1 hour
- Best time: Late afternoon
Getting there
At Point Pedro town, about 32km northeast of Jaffna.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Point Pedro?
- Free.
- What are the opening hours at Point Pedro?
- Daylight hours.
- How long should I spend at Point Pedro?
- Plan for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- When is the best time to visit Point Pedro?
- Late afternoon.
- How do I get to Point Pedro?
- At Point Pedro town, about 32km northeast of Jaffna.