Trincomalee Sri Lanka
Activities
In the close vicinity of Trincomalee are some of the finest beaches of Sri Lanka - Uppuveli and Nilaveli with a variety of hotels, guesthouses and cabanas.
The Thirukonesvaram Temple
attracted pilgrims from all parts of India. This celebrated shrine was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese (who called it the Temple of a Thousand Columns), who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. It was next held by the Dutch, and subsequently by them and the French alternately, till the capture of Sri Lanka by the British in 1795.
The Hoods Tower Museum
at the Trincomalee Navy Base is one of Sri Lanka's most fascinating naval museums. You require permission from the Navy to enter the base. The name of the museum refers to a watchtower built on a hill, which commands a 360-degree view of the harbor and the bay. Three massive canons with a five-kilometer range, installed during the British period, keep a silent vigil over the harbor. Used for defense, the canons now form the centerpiece of an impressive array of antiquated military hardware.
The Hot Springs
are about two kilometers outside Trincomalee center and well worth a visit. A high wall assembles all the seven springs in a rectangular enclosure. Each is enclosed in a dwarf wall and forms a well of its own. The water is mildly hot; the temperature varies but slightly in each. In effect, a public bathing resort, the use of the springs is controlled by the neighboring Mari Amman Kovil.
Diving
in Trincomalee is always associated with whales. This large diving resort on the east coast has become famous in Sri Lanka for the blue, sperm and Bryde's whales and dolphins that are regularly spotted close to shore here. Trincomalee also has some of the best all-round diving in the country. Trinco's coastline is made up of dozens of bays, inlets, reefs, rocky peninsulas, cliffs and islands, and the result is a great variety of undersea terrain and aquatic life. Apart from marine mammals, on some of the walls here divers can encounter schools of barracuda, giant trevally and the occasional shark.