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Delft IslandNeduntivu — Where Wild Ponies Roam Free
A remote paradise of coral walls, wild ponies, colonial ruins, and turquoise waters — Sri Lanka's most enchanting island awaits at the edge of the Palk Strait.
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A remote paradise of coral walls, wild ponies, colonial ruins, and turquoise waters — Sri Lanka's most enchanting island awaits at the edge of the Palk Strait.
Delft Island — known as Neduntivu in Tamil, meaning "Long Island" — is the largest and most remote of the islands off the Jaffna coast. Lying 10 kilometres southwest in the Palk Strait, this 50-square-kilometre flat coral island is home to around 5,000 Tamil people, wild ponies descended from Portuguese and Dutch horses, ancient Baobab trees, and some of Sri Lanka's most hauntingly beautiful colonial ruins.
Named "Delft" by Rijcklof van Goens after the Dutch city, the island has been known by many names: the Portuguese called it Ilha das Vacas (Island of Cows) and later Ilha das Cavallos (Island of Horses). Its landscape of coral stone walls, palmyra palms, and turquoise shallow waters creates an otherworldly atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Sri Lanka.
Archaeological evidence reveals Buddhist stupas and Tamil inscriptions dating to the 1st century. The island featured in the ancient Tamil epic of King Vediyarasan, who ruled the "island of pearls" in the Palk Strait. Ruins of a 1,000-year-old Chola Dynasty Hindu temple stand on the western coast.
The Portuguese built a coral and limestone fort to protect the Jaffna peninsula, introduced Arabian horses for breeding, and established cattle pastures — naming the island first Ilha das Vacas (Island of Cows), then Ilha das Cavallos (Island of Horses). They also built the remarkable Pigeon House for carrier pigeon communications.
Rijcklof van Goens named the island "Delft" after the Dutch city. The Dutch expanded the fort, built barracks, a hospital (with tiles imported from Bangalore dated 1865), and a court complex. They continued horse breeding and used the iconic dovecote for carrier pigeon messaging between islands.
The British established a formal horse breeding programme to supply cavalry horses. They introduced flax plants for canvas-making and built the distinctive coral stone walls that still line every pathway on the island. When horses outgrew the island's fodder supply, many were moved to neighbouring Iranaitivu.
A naval battle was fought off the coast of Delft during the Sri Lankan Civil War. The island's remote location meant its residents endured years of isolation. Despite the conflict, the wild ponies, coral walls, and colonial ruins survived largely intact.
Part of the island was declared a National Park on 22 June 2015, recognising its high biodiversity, importance as a bird migratory path, and status as the only place in Sri Lanka where wild ponies roam free. Today, travellers make the one-hour ferry journey to discover this enchanting, largely unspoilt paradise.
Around 1,000 feral horses roam freely across the island — descendants of Arabian stallions brought by the Portuguese in the 16th century. They are the only wild horse population in Sri Lanka and are protected by law from being removed from the island.
The iconic Dutch dovecote — a massive coral pillar with approximately 70 nesting holes — once housed carrier pigeons used to send messages between the islands and mainland Jaffna. It remains one of the rarest colonial structures in Sri Lanka.
Every pathway and property on Delft is bordered by distinctive walls built from coral stone during the British era. Their rugged appearance resembles Irish stone walls more than anything in South Asia — creating a landscape utterly unique in Sri Lanka.
The coral and limestone fort near the jetty was built by the Portuguese and later used by the Dutch. A two-storey structure, its ground floor stored gunpowder and prisoners while the upper floor had windowed rooms. Only the massive walls remain standing.
A massive Baobab tree — a species native to sub-Saharan Africa — stands as a living relic of Portuguese trade routes. One of the rarest trees in Sri Lanka, it has survived for centuries on this remote coral island, a botanical marvel.
A mysterious 40-inch footprint-shaped geological formation has been attributed to Adam, Lord Shiva, or the monkey god Hanuman by different traditions. Near it, a vertically growing coral formation shaped like a multi-headed cobra is worshipped by locals.
Delft Island is a living museum of colonial history, where Portuguese, Dutch, and British legacies are scattered across a coral landscape of extraordinary beauty. The dovecote, fort ruins, horse stables, Queen's Tower, and the old Dutch hospital form a trail through four centuries of European presence on this remote outcrop in the Palk Strait.
Take the ferry across turquoise waters, walk among wild ponies and coral walls, and discover a forgotten island where time stands still.
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