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Along the northern border of the Jaffna peninsula lies 4 lighthouses along with numerous forts built by our colonial masters to protect the precious cargo moving out of Pearl Island. On the far left of this border lies the Kovilan Point Lighthouse on the Karaitivu Island. This island is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Next is the Kankesanthure Lighthouse (Kankesanthurai Lighthouse) and at the far right lies the Point Padro lighthouse.
The Kankesanthure Lighthouse (Kankesanthurai/KKS) lies in the vicinity of the KKS harbor.
Both the harbour and the lighthouse are surrounded by an ancient fortified wall built by the Portuguese and the Dutch. This lighthouse was built in 1893 and is 22 meters in height. This is an octagonal masonry tower with a lantern and an open gallery on the top which is capped with a copper-mixed metal to protect the lantern. This lighthouse too has faced the ravages of war with the terrorists and is in a dysfunctional state. The KKS harbour is now used as a Naval Base.
Also See
- Lighthouses of Sri Lanka
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Kankasanthure (KKS) Lighthouse
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
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Travel Directions to Kankesanthure Lighthouse
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 Town to Kankesanthure Lighthouse |
| Through : KKS Road Distance : 19 km Travel time : 25 minutes Driving directions : see on google map |
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