Trincomalee district with its natural deep water harbor at the sea port city of great Trincomalee bay, Nilaveli Beach, Uppuveli Beach, Pigeon Island, off-shore whale watching and Dolphin watching, Kanniyai Hot Springs, Colonial Fort Fredrick, Somawathiya Cheitiya Sanctuary, Serwawila historical Buddhist shrine, Velgam Wehera historical Buddhist shrine affords joys and experiences to Sri Lanka Holidays tourists of a diverse range of interests and activities. Swimming at Nilaveli and Uppaveli tropical beaches, snorkeling at Pigeon island, enjoying marine life at off-shore Whale watching and Dolphin watching, getting close to the nature with wild elephants at Somawathie Chaitiya Sanctuary, getting immersed in the Sinhalese Buddhist Culture at Seruwawila historical Buddhist Shrine and Velgam Wehera historical Buddhist shrine, are definitely bound to deepen the experiences of light and enlightenment that would be gained in visiting 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (6 culture; 2 nature) and numerous other tourist attractions of the ancient tropical island of Sri Lanka.

Trincomalee was in early times a major settlement of Indo-Aryan immigrants. The Temple of a Thousand Columns (also called Koneswaram Temple), located at the extremity of the peninsula, came into use as a Hindu temple sometime in the 7th century or earlier. The first Europeans to occupy the town were the Portuguese in the 17th century; they razed the temple, using its stone to construct a fort. The port’s harbour changed hands repeatedly among the Dutch, French, and British until the British gained lasting possession of it in 1795. Trincomalee’s importance as a major British base was heightened after the Japanese ousted the British from Singapore in World War II; the Japanese bombed the town in 1942. The British continued to hold the harbour after Sri Lanka’s independence but relinquished it in 1957.