Adams Bridge Kitesurf Spot in Mannar

The two seasons in Sri Lanka offer very different kitesurfing conditions. In the summer season from May until October the wind starts off a little lighter in the morning around 15-18 knots and by lunch time is generally blowing 25+ and even getting up to 40 knots some days. The lagoon has many shallow spots and it can be difficult to see where the water is shallow (ankle deep!), so be very careful when jumping and make sure you know it’s deep enough underneath you! There is only one kite school that teaches here, and they can give you all the information on where to kitesurf or jump, and offer a tractor to the spot and boat rescue. If you want to just kitesurf yourself that’s also possible and there’s another kite camp nearby, you’ll just have to kiteboard upwind from the launch a few hundred metres.

Winter season from December until February the wind blows the opposite direction and only in the afternoon, meaning the ocean side is butter flat and the best for kitesurfing, but it is an offshore spot so more suited to advanced riders. It’s a magical place to hydrofoil as you have unspoilt kilometres to cruise up and down and the water at this time of year is blue and beautiful. Beginners can still learn to kitesurf in the lagoon or from a boat in this season, and the wind tends to be a bit lighter between 14-19 knots. Sri Lanka is warm all year, so board shorts and tshirt are all you need for kitesurfing, but sun protection is incredibly important as the sun is intense.

Adam’s bridge gets its name from the Abrahamic myth that Adam crossed the bridge on his way to stand repentant on Adam’s peak (a mountain in the centre of Sri Lanka) for 1000 years. It’s also known as Rama’s bridge which comes from the Indian epic Ramayana, where Rama created the bridge to rescue his wife Sita. Either way, it is a limestone chain of islands which it’s believed once made it possible to walk from Sri Lanka to India, and offers shallow and flat water for kitesurfing! 
There is not much else to do at Adam’s bridge apart from kitesurf and chill. The kite camps are the only places you’ll run into any other travellers, and the local area is very poor and undeveloped. You can head out and try some local food if you have your own transport, but most people come here and stay at one of the camps full board. Jaffna is a worthwhile day trip while you’re here, to see some of the Tamil Hindu area in the North of Sri Lanka. There are many temples to be seen and the old Jaffna fort, the locals are incredibly welcoming and lovely, and the vegetarian food is excellent and quite different in taste to the rest of Sri Lanka.

You’ll need to fly to Colombo Bandaranaike Airport (CMB) and then get a taxi or drive yourself to get to Adam’s bridge. It’s a long trip, around 6 hours if you are lucky and don’t hit too much traffic, as roads in Sri Lanka are slow. If you are driving yourself then be careful, the local driving style can be a shock to visitors and you need to be aware of motorbikes, tuktuks, cows, goats etc doing stupid things without warning.