Back in 1775 , a teenaged midshipman named Horatio Nelson, arrived in Trincomalee Harbour aboard the HMS Seahorse. Later, as admiral of the British Navy, he remembered it as the “finest harbour in the world.” With its 33 miles of shoreline locked in by hills on three sides and protected by islands on the fourth, Trincomalee is the world’s fifth largest natural harbour. Visitors to Trinco, usually start their sightseeing at FortFrederick, which sits on a promontory at the east side of Trinco town. This site was used by the Portuguese in 1624 and later by the Dutch in 1676. The British named it in honour of Frederick, Duke of York in 1803, and a century of British fortifications can be found around the fort grounds. The famous Tirukonesvaram Temple is found on the topmost pinnacle of Swami Rock, the northeasternmost tip of Fort Frederick’s promontory. Swami Rock drops about 360 feet directly into the sea. This temple was rebuilt on the site of the fabled ‘Great Pagoda’ of DakshanaKailayam, the Temple of 1000 pillars, that was destroyed by the 17th century Portuguese. One pillar of this original temple still remains on the top of Swami Rock in a place called ‘lovers leap’. North of Trinco, a 20-mile strand of beach runs uninterrupted up the coast past Kuchchaveli. One of Sri Lanka’s premier beach resorts, Nilaveli, is the centre of this strip. Sun bathing, deep sea fishing, skin diving and shell collecting are excellent. Trincomalee’s superb deep-water port has made it the target for all manner of attacks over the centuries: by the British takeover in 1795, the city had changed colonial hands seven times. It’s easy to spend a day or more exploring the ins and outs of the myriad waterfronts and the fort and its famous temple.
