Heritage

Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna (යාපනය නෙල්ලිඅඩි මුතුකුමාර ස්වාමි කෝවිල ආශ්‍රිත පුරාණ පොකුණ හා නටබුන්)

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Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna

Nelliadi lies about 25 kilometres off Jaffna town on the Point Pedro road. After travelling about 1km passing the Nelliadi junction you will come across a small kovil called Muthukumara Swamy Kovil to the right.

Just before and almost in front of the kovil building, you will find an area protected by steel bars by the road. If you would look carefully you will also see a notice board from the Department of Archeology naming this site as a protected archaeological area.

Beyond the protected steel bars, you will see a boundary wall made out of large blocks of limestone. The whole tank is about 10 meters long and steps leading to the bottom of the pond are built using the same material from the eastern side. This way the people could access the water even if the water level is low.

On the opposite side of the road lies ruins of an old building which could have been an Ambalama. The roof of this building is no more. However, six complete hexagonal pillars and part of the walls made of limestone can be seen. The walls have been made of large boulders cemented together.

Next to this building lies a well probably belonging to the same era. There is a small tank connected to a well through a drain. Such tanks were used to feed cattle in the old days. Travelers with cattle would draw water from the well and pour the bucket into the drain which will carry it to the small tank. A basin made of limestone can also be found just by the well, meant for the traveller himself.

Ruins in front of the the ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna

Ruins of the ancient building in front of the the ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna

The ancient well with the tank at the ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna

Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil in Jaffna <BR> photo by : Alpha Sri

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Map of Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil

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Travelling directions to the Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil

Jaffna can be reached through two principal routes. The most commonly used approach is via Elephant Pass, which has long served as the traditional gateway to the Jaffna Peninsula.

An alternative route reaches Jaffna from the direction of Pooneryn by crossing the Sangupiddy Bridge. This crossing follows what was historically the ancient route to the peninsula before the construction of modern highways. The route provides a connection between Jaffna and the Mannar region.

Route 01 from Colombo to Jaffna Through Kurunegala (Popular Route)	Route 02 from Colombo to Jaffna Through Puttalam and Pooneryn (Lesser Traveled Route)
Through : Kurunegala – Dambulla – Anuradhapura – Vavuniya Distance: 410 km Travel Time: 7-8 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps.	Through: Puttalam – Thantirimale – Mannar – Poonaryn Distance: 408 km Travel Time: 8 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps.

Travel directions from Jaffna town to Ruins of the Ancient Pond at Nelliady Muthukumara Swamy Kovil

Distance : 29 km
Travel time : 45 mins
Time to spend : 15-30 mins
Driving directions : see on Google map

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