Manalkadu- The Small Sand Desert in Sri Lanka
Manalkadu is a small village in the Jaffna district. It is situated in northern Sri Lanka. Manalkadu is near the point of Peduruthuduwa. When you are down the beach area about 5 kilometres from Peduruthuduwa, The Manalkadu village will appear. It is the only sand desert in Sri Lanka. there are 319 kilometers from Colombo, the country’s capital. Manalkadu in the local Tamil language means sand jungle.
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| Manalkadu- The Small Sand Desert in Sri Lanka |
The beach of
Manalkadu is not popular. So, it is not a crowded beach. When you are visiting
this beach area you can see sand desert around the beach of Manalkadu. The
beach is about 20 kilometres long. It is a golden sandy beach in Sri Lanka.
When you are visiting this place, you can see the number of sand dunes. The dunes
are up to 15 meters high in this area. There are small sandy mountains in this
area also.
Manalkadu Ruins of The old St. Anthony’s church
This place
had an archaeological value. Ruins of the old St. Anthony’s church can be seen
in this place. Manalkadu church building dates back to the Dutch period of Sri
Lanka. It may be 17 centuries. How can the ruins are covered by sand and change
many times. The walls of the church are
party built of coral stone. Because it is a rare site to visit in Sri Lanka.
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| Manalkadu Ruins of The old St. Anthony’s church |
There are about 400 families live in this village. Fisheries is the only live hood of them. Manalkadu had to face Tsunami in the year 2004 and relocated new houses. The villagers had to live with the LTTE war in Sri Lanka long Period. Manalkadu has a different climate over the year. When you are travelling this sand area you may think this is not a place in Sri Lanka, It is abroad. Some film producers are like to produce their films in this sand area.