A dramatic roadside monument on the narrow isthmus that guards the gateway to the Jaffna Peninsula, scene of some of the war's fiercest battles.

Overview

The Elephant Pass War Memorial rises beside the A9 highway at the causeway linking the mainland to the Jaffna Peninsula, a strategic choke point known as the gateway to Jaffna. The monument shows four outstretched arms of the island's communities hoisting a unified Sri Lanka beneath the national flag, ringed by stone lions and blooming flowers symbolising peace after conflict. Nearby stands the memorial to Corporal Gamini Kularatne, honoured for his role in the earlier defence of the pass. The flat, wind-swept surroundings and views over the lagoons make it a memorable stop on the drive north.

History

Elephant Pass, named for the elephants that once crossed the isthmus, was among the most heavily contested places of the civil war, changing hands in major battles in 1991 and 2000. The present memorial was erected after the war and unveiled around 2010 to mark the reopening and unification of the A9 highway, commemorating the soldiers who fought and died defending this strategic corridor.