The first local to greet me on Delft Island wasn’t a person. It was a pony, standing in the middle of the road with the calm of someone who’d been there long before the tuk-tuks and had no plans to shift for them. I’d just climbed off the ferry, a bit wobbly from the crossing, and there it was, chewing on something, completely unbothered. Welcome to Neduntheevu, which most of us know as Delft.
The island sits out in the Palk Strait, west of the Jaffna peninsula, so flat and low that the sky seems to take up most of the view. The Portuguese called it Ilha das Vacas, the Island of Cows. The Dutch renamed it after the city back home. The locals have always called it Neduntheevu, and honestly that’s the name that fits. It’s a mostly Hindu island of fishermen, palmyra and farmers, and it feels far more remote than the map suggests.
Getting there from Katunayake
Honest warning first: Delft is a long journey from the airport, and there’s no clever shortcut. The ferry leaves from Kurikadduwan, a jetty on Punkudutivu Island, which is linked to the Jaffna peninsula by road. Everything before that is about reaching Jaffna.
You’ve got three realistic options. The first is a car and driver straight up the A9. It’s a full day on the road, eight or nine hours with stops, and I’d happily break it with a night somewhere around Anuradhapura if you’d like to arrive with a working spine. The second is the train. Get from the airport to Colombo Fort first, then take the northern line to Jaffna. It’s slow, a little rattly and quietly lovely once the paddy fields open up. The third is a domestic flight, though those fly from Ratmalana rather than Katunayake, so you’ll need an extra transfer and a quick check of current schedules.
From Jaffna town it’s roughly 40 kilometres to Kurikadduwan, about an hour by road. The ferry then takes anything from an hour to ninety minutes, depending on the route. The regular service is run with the Navy’s help and gets very crowded, so turn up early and keep your bag on your lap. Private boats are an option for small groups who’d like more breathing room. Whatever you choose, ask about the last return crossing the moment you arrive. You do not want to find that out at four in the afternoon.
Where to stay
Most visitors, me included, base themselves in Jaffna and treat Delft as a long day trip. The town has a good spread of guesthouses, restored family homes and proper hotels, mostly within easy reach of the fort and the market, and it’s a far better place to land after a day of sun and salt. I’d book somewhere with an early breakfast, because the ferry won’t wait for your second cup of tea.
If you’d rather stay on the island itself, there are a handful of simple guesthouses and homestays. Don’t expect much in the way of polish. Do expect a very quiet night, a sky packed with stars and a host who’ll know exactly which ponies are hanging around which field. Arrange it in advance, because options are limited and the signal can be patchy.
The wild horses
The ponies are why most of us come, so let’s start there. They’re thought to be descendants of horses left behind by the Portuguese, and later bred and traded by the Dutch from this very island. When the colonists went home, the horses stayed. They’ve been running loose across the grassland ever since, and a few hundred are said to roam the island today.
You’ll spot them in small herds on the open plains, often near water, with the occasional young colt galloping about like a teenager who has just been given the car keys. The open plains make it easy to watch them from a distance, and that’s the best way to do it. Keep your hands to yourself, don’t feed them, and take your rubbish back with you. Part of the island’s protected status exists for exactly these animals, and the remoteness that has kept them safe won’t last forever if we’re careless.
The Dutch ruins and other relics
The old fort is the heart of the island’s history, and it’s smaller than you’d expect. Built from coral and limestone, it was started by the Portuguese and later changed by the Dutch, and it’s more of a crumbling shell now than a fortress. I like it for that. There’s no ticket barrier, no velvet rope, just weathered walls with the sea breeze coming through them. If you’ve seen Galle or Jaffna fort, think of this as their quiet, shy cousin.
You reach the fort by walking past the old Dutch hospital, which the British later turned into a magistrate’s court, and which has been through a few lives since. A short walk away is my favourite oddity, the dovecote. It’s a squat tower of coral stone, honeycombed with little compartments, built to house the carrier pigeons that were once the island’s fastest line to the mainland. Somebody was clearly very proud of their pigeon network. There are traces of old Dutch stables around too, which makes perfect sense once you’ve met the ponies.
Then there’s the baobab. It’s enormous, with a trunk so wide and hollow that you can step inside it and feel faintly ridiculous. The story goes that Arab traders carried the seeds here centuries ago, though some say the Portuguese planted it for the horses. Either way, it’s wonderful to stand beside something that was already ancient when the Dutch arrived. Look out for the cemetery too, where the headstones belong to all faiths, and for the remains of three old stupas near the north-western coast. There are also ruins linked to an old Chola-era temple. Delft has been layering its history for a very long time.
What else to do
Hire a tuk-tuk or one of the mini-trucks at the pier. The drivers will greet you in Tamil and bargain with a smile, so settle the route before you climb in and ask them to point out the sights that aren’t signposted, which is most of them. The island is small enough to cover in a few hours, though I’d say give yourself more time than you think you need, because the best moments tend to be unplanned. Mine was sitting on a coral wall eating a sandwich while a mare and her foal trotted past as though I wasn’t there.
Bring a hat, plenty of water and sunscreen, because shade is scarce and the sun is not shy. The beaches are pale and nearly empty, with shallow, clear water that suits a paddle or a bit of snorkelling if the conditions are kind. Birdwatchers will be happy too, since a single morning here can turn up dozens of species. And bring a bit of patience. Delft runs on island time, which is to say it runs on the tide, the ferry and whatever the ponies feel like doing.
Before you go
Delft isn’t a place to tick off. It’s a place that slows you down whether you like it or not. The journey is long, the facilities are basic and the ferry can test your nerves, but you’ll end up on a windswept plain with wild horses, a fallen Dutch fort and not another soul for company. On the way back to the jetty, my pony was still standing in the road. I like to think it was waiting for me. It was probably just waiting for lunch.
