Off the beaten path around Trincomalee

This page is about less-frequented places of interest in the
northeast of Sri Lanka.

Find a list of links to dozens of off-the-beaten-path destinations
all over Sri Lanka here...

Trincomalee

Popular tourist attractions in the northeast of Sri Lanka

Trincomalee  is situated on a bank between the island’s largest natural harbour and the open sea. The Koneshvaram temple on a promontory is one of the most revered sacred sites of Hindu devotees in Sri Lanka. The 10 km long sandy beach of Nilaveli and the coral reef of Pidgeon Island and the Sinnakaracchi Lagoon just north of Trincomalee town are popular with holiday makers.

Lonesome places in the hinterland of Trincomalee and Nilaveli

1*star & almost secret

Andamkulam is the name of a suburb of Trincomalee and also of a tank and a hill close-by. Anandakulama Tissa Forest Hermitage, also known as Sri Thissa Raja Maha Viharaya, in Andamkulam is a modern Seated Buddha statue placed on a steep, prominent balancing rock on the crest of the hill. An even larger Standing Buddha, also newly erected, can be seen at the foot of the hill, within the precincts of the Anandakulama Tissa Forest Hermitage.

1*star & almost secret

Kuchchaveli is a village and a beach to the north of the much more popular Nilaveli Beach in Trincomalee District. Indeed, Kuchchaveli is less safe for swimming and has only few hotels. But the beach of Kuchchaveli is never crowded and the hotels are more exclusive. A beach temple, lagoons, viewpoints and several ancient sites in the surroundings are the reason why also a half-day excursion might be worth considering for Nilaveli holiday makers.

1*star & almost secret

Lonesome beaches can be found further north. A lovely small protected beach is called Arisimalai. It can be reached from a car park near Pulmuddai after a short hike of only 1 km. By the way, the surroundings of Pulmoddai are a rewarding bird watching area.

3***stars & almost secret

In the hinterland of Trincomalee, there are several places of interest for heritage travellers. All of them deserve to be called off-the-beaten-path destinations. The most impressive one is the circular temple on top of a hill within the quite large archaeological site of Thiriyai (Tiriyaya). This is the best preserved so-called Vatadage from the Anuradhapura period, an absolute must-see for heritage enthusiasts and neverthesless almost undisturbed throughout the year.

1*star & almost secret

Even closer to Trincomalee, just 4 km north of the sacred hot wells of Kanniyai, is the Velgam Vehera. Historically, it’s a noteworthy site, as this Buddhist temple, though of earlier origin, was restored and enlarged to its current size under the foreign rule of the Tamil Chola dynasty, which was Hindu and otherwise has a reputation of having destroyed Buddhist temples on the island. In the case of Velgam Vehera, they have built one. And it became style-defining concerning the layout and style of image houses in the subsequent Polonnaruwa period. Today, visitors are rare at this important excavation site.

2**stars & almost secret

Further inland is the rock and monastery of Madagama. It seems not to be amazing when seen from a distance. But this almost unknown place is one of the most delightful places anywhere in Sri Lanka. Apart from some cave temples at the northern foot of the rock, the view from the very top to the Vanni plains is really charming. Most of all, a saddle at the vertical southern sloe of the rock is worth discovering. It has further hermitages and a pond within a rock shelter.

1*star & almost secret

Seruwila is one of the two holiest Buddhist sites in the Eastern Province. It’s the only stupa in Sri lanka which is believed to contain relics of all four Buddhas of our present aeon. The archaeological site has a new image house in a pagoda-style and a small museum. The place also known as Seruwawila is situated 42 km south of Trincomalee by road. It’s worth a small detour when travelling along the east coast from Trincomalee to Pasikuda Beach or to Batticaloa further south.