Trincomalee is a district of the Eastern province of Sri Lanka best known for its maritime activities and natural harbor. Trincomalee originally scraped its name from Tamil giving the meaning “Lord of the sacred hill” and it lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. The Bay of Trincomalee harbour is renowned for its large size and security; unlike every other in the Indian Sea, it is accessible to all types of craft in all weathers. The beaches are used for surfing, scuba diving, fishing and whale watching. The city also has the largest Dutch fort in Sri Lanka. It is home to major Sri Lankan naval bases and a Sri Lankan Air Force base.
Sanskrit texts, as well as an inscription unearthed by archeologists, call it Gokanna. The Vayu Purana refers to a Siva temple on Trikuta hill on the eastern coast of Lanka in the 3rd century. The Mahavamsa documents that the King Mahasena destroyed a Deva temple and built a Buddhist shrine in its stead to expiate for an earlier heresy on his part. Tamil texts, as well as excavated inscriptions detail the Saivite principalities that formed in Trincomalee in service of the Koneswaram temple by the medieval age. The South Indian Tamil literature Tevaram of Tiru-gnana Sambandar makes mention to the Siva temple in Trincomalee in the 6th century. Koneswaram and the royal administration of the city is documented in several late medieval texts such as the Konesar Kalvettu and the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam.
Trincomalee features a tropical wet and dry climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city appears to feature a dry season from March through July and a wet season for the remainder of the year. Technically however, May which sees on average 70 mm of precipitation, is a wet season month. In essence, Trincomalee features two dry seasons. The city sees on average roughly 1650 mm of precipitation annually. Average temperatures in Trincomalee range from around 25 degrees Celsius in January to approximately 30 degrees Celsius during the warmest months of the year.
Trincomalee's strategic importance has shaped its recent history. The great European powers vied for mastery of the harbour. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the English, each held it in turn, and there have been many sea battles nearby. The harbour, the fifth largest natural harbour in the world, is overlooked by terraced highlands, its entrance is guarded by two headlands, and there is a carriage road along its northern and eastern edges. Trincomalee's location, in a less well developed and sparsely populated area has in the past hampered its own development. Nevertheless plans are under way to develop Trincomalee as a commercial seaport.
Trincomalee has some of the most picturesque and scenic beaches found in Sri Lanka, relatively unspoilt and clean. The area is famous for bathing and swimming, owing to the relative shallowness of the sea, allowing one to walk out over a hundred meters into the sea without the water reaching the chest. Whale watching is a common pastime in the seas off Trincomalee, and successful sightings are on the rise with the increase of tourism in the area. There are the seven hot springs of Kanniya on the road to Trincomalee. A high wall bounds the rectangular enclosure which includes all seven springs. Each is in turn enclosed by a dwarf wall to form a well. The water is warm, the temperature of each spring being slightly different. The use of the springs for bathing is controlled by the neighbouring Mari Amman Kovil, who holds the lease of the wells.
Tricomalee’s well known for the Koṇēsvaram temple, with a recorded history from the 3rd century CE and legends attesting to classical antiquity attracted pilgrims from all parts of India. The Koṇēsvaram shrine itself was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese (who called it the Temple of a Thousand Columns), and who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. Some of the artefacts from the demolished temple were kept in the Lisbon Museum including the stone inscription by Kulakottan (Kunakottan). It has an emblem including two fish and is engraved with a prophesy stating that, after the 16th century, westerners with different eye colours will rule the country for 500 years and, at the end of it, rule will revert back to Vadugus. The Hindu temple was also documented in several late medieval texts such as the Konesar Kalvettu and the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam.
Map of Trincomalee bay
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