Trincomalee: The East Coast Gem Most Visitors Miss

Trincomalee has one of the five best natural deepwater harbours in the world — a fact that made it strategically important for every colonial power that arrived in Sri Lanka and that still gives the city a certain weight when you stand on the headland and look out over the bay. It is a town of enormous history worn lightly, going about its daily business with the mixture of Tamil, Muslim, and Sinhalese communities that characterises the northeast.

Nilaveli Beach, twenty minutes north of Trinco, is one of the finest beaches in Sri Lanka. A long, wide stretch of white sand with calm, shallow water and none of the crowds of the south coast. From May to October this is where the east coast comes into its own. The water is flat and clear and perfect for swimming every day. Pigeon Island, just offshore, is a marine national park with snorkelling among reef sharks, sea turtles, and dense coral gardens.

Koneswaram Temple sits on Swami Rock, a sheer headland above the sea. The temple is ancient and active and the view from the cliff edge is the kind of thing that makes you completely forget what you were thinking about. The bay of Trincomalee below, the Indian Ocean beyond, and the temple bells in the wind. Go around sunset.

From April to August, sperm whales move through the waters off Trincomalee and boat trips to see them are available from the harbour. This is not whale watching of the crowded excursion variety. It is a small boat on the deep Indian Ocean and, if the conditions are right, a sperm whale surfacing close enough that you understand immediately what scale means.