Map showing Trincomalee in relation to 'C' Colombo - Trincomalee map

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

Trincomalee bay and port is on the northeast coast of
Sri Lanka, about 200km north-east of Colombo
and 175km north-east of Kandy

Ceylon Tea Sri Lanka - - Image courtesy of srilankatourism.org.uk and The Sri Lanka Tourist Board for the UK and Ireland Trincomalee is the best known town on the east coast of Sri Lanka. A sunny place throughout the year with miles of broad, white sand beaches with coconut fringed bays and warm calm seas. All the things that a holiday maker needs! That's why Trincomalee or 'Trinco' draws sun and sea-worshipers to Sri Lanka’s east coast main city.

Since time began Trincomalee’s large, safe natural harbour has been a haven for mariners and today Trincomalee harbour is Sri Lanka's main naval base. Trincomalee has been held by the Portuguese, Dutch and French alternately, until the capture and colonisation of Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was known then, by the British in 1795.

Trincomalee Holidays:

Trincomalee was one of the Sri Lankan cities worst hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indonesian, Indian Ocean earthquake in December 2004 but has recovered its tourist industry.

Holidays to Trincomalee: tourism is based around the beaches, used for surfing, scuba diving, fishing and even whale watching. The city also has Sri Lanka's largest remaining historic Dutch colonial fortress.

Places and things of interest in and around Trincomalee:

Dutch Fort and The Hood's Tower Naval Museum
Harbour
Trincomalee "Elephant Island"
Hindu and Buddhist historical and ruin sites
Trincomalee Museum - Konneswaram Temple Artifacts
Hot springs - The seven hot springs of Kanniyaw AKA Unudiya, are on the road to Trincomalee. The temperature of each spring being slightly different. Entry to the springs is now controlled by the Mari Amman Kovil temple. The springs are on state land.

Tiriyayi or Thiriyaya, just over 45km north of Trincomalee, is an example of ruins of an ancient Buddhist monasteries that have been discovered in the area.

St Mary's Church, Trincomalee

HMS Trincomalee was a British sailing frigate built in India.

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.