Jaffna Peninsula is blessed with a number of great beaches. The Casuarina Beach in Karainagar is considered the best beach in the Jaffna Peninsula. The beach lies on the north of Karativu island, one of the largest islands in the peninsula which is connected to the mainland over a causeway. This beach is also called and written as Casoorina, Cashoorina and a few other variants.
The beach was unspoilt until recently due to the LTTE terrorist activities. With the liberation of the country from the LTTE, this has become one of the main attractions for those who visit Jaffna, thus losing some of the cleanliness. Still, having a bath at Casuarina Beach should be part of the itinerary for those who visit Jaffna. The sea at Casuarina Beach is so shallow, you can walk a long way into the sea in the deep blue water with gentle waves moving towards the land.
The fisherman in the area uses a flat boat made out of wooden logs resembling a full boat cut in half called Kattumaram. These are used to fish in shallow waters and move about prawn farms in the sea.
The beach probably got its name due to the Casuarina Trees (Kasa Gas) along the beach. The beach lies about 20 km off Jaffna and may take about 45 minutes to travel by vehicle.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Casuarina Beach in Jaffna
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
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Traveling Directions to Casuarina Beach in Jaffna
Jaffna can be reached through 2 directions. The first one is over the Elephant Pass which is the normal route to Jaffna. The other entrance is from Pooneryn over the newly built Sangupiddi Bridge. This road connects to Mannar.
Route 01 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Kurunegala) | Route 02 from Colombo to Jaffna (Through Puttalam) |
Through : Kurunegala – Dambulla – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance : 400 km Travel Time : 7-8 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Puttalam – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance : 400 km Travel Time : 7-8 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps |
Route from Jaffna Fort |
distance :22 km Travel time : 40 mins Driving directions : see on google map |
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