For more than a year after the war, much of Mullaitivu was off-limits to civilians.

ECONOMIST: A rebel stronghold becomes an unlikely tourist trap

But by the time the army moved into the town in January, they had been displaced into the district around Mullaitivu.

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka's war

Areas as far north as Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu, and as far south as Batticaloa were bombed from the air, to prevent Tiger reinforcements reaching the area, and to cripple their fledgling air force.

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka at war

Most analysts agree that Mullaitivu may prove a harder nut to crack because the town and the area immediately surrounding it are long thought to have been the centre of the rebels' military power.

BBC: Is the end near for Sri Lanka's rebels?

The pool is one stop on a tour of former war zones in the district of Mullaitivu, one of the worst areas of fighting during a conflict in which up to 100, 000 people died.

ECONOMIST: A rebel stronghold becomes an unlikely tourist trap