Sri Lanka
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
137km²
Area
107km
Coastline
12m
Highest point
40,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
April
28km
To the mainland
When to go to Mannar Island
Best for the beach from January to February and from June to August.
The sea is warmest in April (30 °C) and coolest in January (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Sri Lanka
Mannar Island is an island in Sri Lanka. It covers 137 km², with 107 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 12 m. About 40,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 28 km away.
Getting there
- Jaffna International Airport (JAF)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 87 km in a straight lineCar hire at CMB airport (Colombo)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesRameswaram-Talaimannar train ferry (abandoned, canceled))
- 28 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to February and from June to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mannar Island.
- 1beaches
- 2viewpointsThalaimannar Islands Viewpoint, Sri Rama's Bridge Viewpoint
- 2lighthousesOld Lighthouse, Thalaimannar Lighthouse
- 1ferry terminals
- 1castles and fortsMannar Dutch Fort
- 12hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 8restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 5 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Mannar35,817 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 40 | 45 | 88 | 75 | 14 | 17 | 39 | 58 | 199 | 269 | 196 |
| Wet days | 6 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 21 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | 6.7 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 24 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 18 | 16 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.9 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.8 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.6 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | −0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | −0.4 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.0 |
| 2025 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
India
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q426532) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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