# Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division, Jaffna District > Source: https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/ Divisional Secretariat division · Jaffna District # Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division is a Divisional Secretariat (DS) division of Sri Lanka in Jaffna District, Northern Province. It covers **48.9 km²**. It is divided into 25 GN divisions. 34 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 44 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools. - 48.9km² - 25GN divisions - 44mapped services ## Where is Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division? Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division lies in [Jaffna District](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/), [Northern Province](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/), [Sri Lanka](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/). It borders 2 other DS divisions: [Karainagar DS Division](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/karainagar/) and [Valikamam South West (Sandilipay) DS Division](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-south-west-sandilipay/). By area it is the 292nd largest of 339 DS divisions in Sri Lanka. It covers 4.5% of [Jaffna District](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/). The centre of Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division is about 312 km in a straight line from Colombo, the commercial capital. It is about 10.0 km from Jaffna, the main town of Jaffna District. The centre point is at 9.7377° N, 79.9499° E. Local names: වලිකාමම් බටහිර (චන · சங்கானை . Source: [Survey Department of Sri Lanka via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-lka). ## Know before you go: Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division - Time zoneUTC+5:30, no daylight saving · Asia/Colombo - CurrencyRupee (LKR) - Country calling code+94 - LanguagesSinhala, Tamil, English - Plug typesType D, G · 230 V - Driving sideLeft - Postcode format5 digits (#####) ### Nearest airports - Jaffna International Airport (JAF) · Jaffna15 km - Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ) · Tiruchirappalli177 km ### Nearest railway station Inuvil (Inuvil North East), about 8.8 km from the centre. ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 12.7 hours, sunrise around 05:49) and shortest in Dec (about 11.6 hours, sunrise around 06:18, sunset around 17:52). Source: [GeoNames country and time-zone files (CC BY 4.0)](https://www.geonames.org/); [Wikidata (CC0) — plug types, mains voltage, driving side; retrieved 2026-11-03](https://www.wikidata.org/); [OurAirports (public domain)](https://ourairports.com/data/). Airports with scheduled passenger flights; straight-line distances. Daylight is calculated for the 15th of each month in local standard time. Check entry and visa rules with official government sources before travelling. ## GN divisions of Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division Grama Niladhari division Area km² Localities Services [Arali Centre](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/arali-centre/) 3.4 3 2 [Arali East](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/arali-east/) 1.8 0 0 [Arali North](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/arali-north/) 1.9 0 2 [Arali South](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/arali-south/) 3.8 3 2 [Arali West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/arali-west/) 2.5 4 1 [Chankanai Centre](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chankanai-centre/) 1.6 1 2 [Chankanai East](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chankanai-east/) 0.9 0 1 [Chankanai South](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chankanai-south/) 1.2 2 2 [Chankanai West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chankanai-west/) 1.1 2 0 [Chulipuram Centre](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chulipuram-centre/) 1.4 1 2 [Chulipuram East](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chulipuram-east/) 3.6 0 3 [Chulipuram West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/chulipuram-west/) 2.5 1 0 [Moolai](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/moolai/) 4.3 1 3 [Panippulam](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/panippulam/) 1.2 1 1 [Pannagam](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/pannagam/) 1.0 2 1 [Ponnalai](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/ponnalai/) 5.5 4 2 [Sangarathai](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/sangarathai/) 3.4 3 2 [Siththankerni](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/siththankerni/) 0.9 1 2 [Tholpuram East](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/tholpuram-east/) 0.8 1 0 [Tholpuram West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/tholpuram-west/) 1.2 2 4 [Vadducoddai East](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/vadducoddai-east/) 1.2 0 2 [Vadducoddai North](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/vadducoddai-north/) 0.5 0 0 [Vadducoddai South](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/vadducoddai-south/) 1.4 1 2 [Vadducoddai South West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/vadducoddai-south-west/) 1.4 0 4 [Vadducoddai West](https://wherepedia.org/sri-lanka/northern/jaffna/valikamam-west-chankanai/vadducoddai-west/) 0.6 1 4 Source: [Survey Department of Sri Lanka via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-lka); [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). ## Villages and localities in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division Open gazetteers list **34 villages, towns and localities** in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division. Settlements here lie between about 5 m and 12 m above sea level (median 10 m). - Arali - Arali North - Arali South - Arali West - Araly - Araly East - Chankanai - Chankanai East - Chankanai West - Chittankeni - Chulipuram - Koddaikaadu - Koddaikkadu - Moolai - Nelliyaan - Nelliyan - Panippulam - Pannaakam - Ponnalai - Punnalai - Raaththalady - Sangarathai - Sankaraththai - Sinthupuram - Siththankerny - Sittankerni - Thoddilady - Tholpuram - Thunavy - Tolpuram - Vaddukkoddai - Vaddukkoddai East - Vaddukkoddai West - Valakamparai Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). ## Landscape and landmarks of Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division Named natural and historic features inside Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Water 3 reservoirs and tanks. - Kotakali Kulam - Nalavarai Kulam - Punnalai Kulam ### Coast and islands 1 island. - Thuruthupiddi Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/). Places of worship are not listed. Elevations are from the GeoNames terrain model and are approximate. ## Weather in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division and the best time to visit Using the climate of Jaffna District, the warmest month is Apr (average 30 °C) and the coolest is Jan (26 °C). About 1,144 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Nov (293 mm) and the driest Jun (21 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **January to February**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 26 45 Feb 27 33 Mar 28 39 Apr 30 75 May 30 78 Jun 29 21 Jul 29 24 Aug 29 50 Sep 28 73 Oct 28 210 Nov 27 293 Dec 26 202 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Hospitals, banks and other services in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division Places mapped inside Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division in open map data, by type — each number opens the full list with locations. - Hospitals7 - Banks2 - Petrol pumps1 - Hotels3 - Schools29 - Colleges and universities1 - Police stations1 Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). Coverage depends on what has been mapped; contact details are not shown. ## Quick answers - Where is Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?In Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka - What borders Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?Karainagar DS Division and Valikamam South West (Sandilipay) DS Division - What time zone is Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division in?UTC+5:30 - What currency is used in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?Rupee (LKR) - What language is spoken in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?Sinhala, Tamil, English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?34 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the elevation of Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?Settlements lie between 5 m and 12 m - How many reservoirs and tanks are in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?3 named in GeoNames - What is the best time to visit Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?January to February - How many hospitals are in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?7 mapped - How many banks are in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?2 mapped - How many petrol pumps are in Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?1 mapped - What is the P-code of Valikamam West (Chankanai) DS Division?LK4106 (OCHA common operational dataset)