Trincomalee Highlights - Things To Do Beyond Uppuveli Beach
Our guide to the Trincomalee area and things to do outside of Uppuveli beach. Featuring a temple, a museum, Nilaveli and Trincomalee's markets.
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Dragging ourselves away from Uppuveli beach was never going to be an easy task, but there is so much more to see in the Trincomalee area. Here’s our guide for some ideas of what to do outside of Uppuveli beach.
Nilaveli Beach
So you’ve summoned the willpower to get off your beach towel and leave Uppuveli. How about another beach?
Just in case you haven’t already got enough beach selfies already!
Nilaveli is a 20 minute tuk tuk ride north of Uppuveli. We visited in the summer of 2022, which was definitely not a normal time.
The approach to the beach was lined with closed shops, empty resorts and seemingly abandoned restaurants. However, when we arrived on the beach front, it was alive with locals enjoying the surf. We walked south back towards Uppuveli along the white sandy beach and quickly found ourselves on a deserted stretch of shoreline paradise. White sand, turquoise waters and not a soul to be seen.
Nilaveli beach was like being on a desert island. Fun for a while and the lack of people a pleasant novelty, but we were both glad we were not staying in the area. In normal times there are countless bars, restaurants and resorts that line and fill the beach with life, but when we were there it was a little depressing. We don’t mean to be negative and we really do hope it recovers back to its former glory. As the beach is amazing, cleaner than Uppuveli and deserving to have its tourists back.
Just to note if you do want to swim here the tides are quite strong, but there were lifeguards on the busier stretch of the beach.
Sri Thirukoneswaram Kovil Temple
Jumping in a tuk tuk we headed to Sri Thirukoneswaram Kovil Temple. Perched high on the cliffs of Trincomalee, just past the Dutch stronghold of Fort Frederick, the Sri Thirukoneswaram Kovil Temple is a rainbow of colour standing out against the turquoise waters of the bay. The tuk tuk drops you off at the bottom of a small upward road winding up to the summit of the headland. Lined with market stalls, fruit vendors and sellers of temple offerings, the road ends at the entrance to the temple.
Shedding our shoes we headed into the temple complex, this is an active place of worship and much the same as other holy sites, shoulders must be covered and long trousers or skirts must be worn, footwear also must be removed. As we emerged from the trees, we were instantly confronted by an enormous statue of Lord Shiva and the vibrant pastel shades of the temple rising behind him. Walking around the temple, you go down through the cliffs for a fantastic view over the bay, a statue stands out covered in coins, where passing devotees throw their change in hopes of a blessing.
This area, although serene and beautiful, does have a sad past history. The temple as it stands is a reconstruction, the earlier temple having been destroyed by the Portuguese and its ruins used to build Fort Frederick. Even after this, a cliff in the area became known as Lovers Leap, after Francina van Reed, the daughter of a Dutch gentleman, jumped to her death, after watching her erstwhile betroth’s ship disappear over the horizon of the Indian Ocean, leaving her jilted and abandoned.
Winding back up past colourful statues we entered the temple itself. Carved reliefs, Hindu deities and colourful woodwork stretch away in all directions. The sound of chanting and prayers echo calmly through the space. Several of the statues on display are from the old temple (the one destroyed by the Portuguese). Devout locals, fearing for the statues' safety, had secretly buried them ahead of the temple's destruction. The statues have now been restored to their former glory and sit proudly in the rebuilt temple.
Just to note when visiting, photography is not allowed inside the temple buildings, and the temple complex is only open in the mornings and evenings (at other times it is in use for worship).
With no ticket price on entry, the Sri Thirukoneswaram Kovil Temple is a great place to both soak up the sites of Trincomalee harbour and dip your toe into the cultural and spiritual history of the area.
Fort Frederick
Wandering out of the temple, we made a rookie error. Like the clueless tourists we sometimes are, we went immediately to the closest juice bar to the temple. Compounding our clueless tourist status for the day, we forgot to ask for prices before ordering and sat down with a watermelon juice and mango smoothie along with some chopped fruit. We’re not farmers, but we’re assuming it wasn’t the natural season for either of these fruits as both were a little watery, a bit floral (we wondered if they had added rose water?) and generally just not as refreshing as we hoped. However, the view from the little juice bar was fantastic, as it practically overhung the cliff. The price tag however, clearly showed that this juice bar target audience was the clueless tourists. We paid 1200 LKR (£2.76 or $3.35) for the juices.
After our juice stop we wandered down the hill through Fort Frederick. Fort Frederick is now used by the Sri Lankan army so a lot of the fort is no longer accessible, but from the road you are able to see a lot of the old colonial buildings. The Fort is also, however, heavily used by the local deer population who appear in great numbers and can even be tempted closer with offers of food (although we did see signs recommending you did not do this).
Trincomalee’s Maritime and Naval History Museum
Outside the Fort and a short hot walk later, we found ourselves staring down the barrel of a ginormous cannon at Trincomalee’s Maritime and Naval History museum.
The museum is free to enter, asking only for a donation on exit. We were given a guided tour around the museum (we're not sure if this is normal practice but as we were the only ones there we happily accepted). Our guide was great, explaining the exhibits to us and giving us background to the history. The museum features the recreation of a shipwreck, several dioramas of the history and landscape of the area, archaeological finds, and a display of naval uniforms.
Our guide even ushered us through a backroom and up a tiny set of stairs (they were so vertical they were nearly a ladder) onto the museum roof. Again we don’t know if this is what normally happens on a visit, but it was a great little treat, giving us good views of the beach, Fort Frederick and the grounds surrounding the museum.
The view over Trincomalee Bay from the rooftop of the museum!
During the course of our tour, we also learnt about the museum's own restoration. Formerly a Dutch Commissioner's residence, the building had fallen into disrepair. By disrepair, we mean it had effectively no roof, walls crumbling and a giant tree had burst through the centre of the property. In five years, the restoration had completely reversed this, and the building stands proudly in its former splendour. This is a small museum and easily missed by travellers to Trincomalee, but if you’re in the area we heartily recommend it. The warmth and enthusiasm of the staff alone made it worth the very short walk from Fort Frederick to get there.
Trincomalee Market
If you’re still looking for non beach related things to do, a trip to Trincomalee’s markets are a good non sandy option. The town of Trincomalee is filled with colours, street art and textile shops, along with a fresh fruit and vegetable market and a separate fish market. Centred around the clock tower and Central bus station, the markets and shopping streets radiate out in all directions. The shops were predominantly tailors, textile shops and clothes stores. As with market towns all around the world, the shops were selling brightly coloured dresses, handbags and questionable branded apparel.
Like all shopping trips, no trip is complete without a stop for lunch and Trincomalee caters for this well. Throughout the town you can find numerous ‘hotels’ (the word ‘hotel’ is interchangeable with restaurant here) selling rice and curry, vada (doughnut shaped savoury snacks), samosas and other pastry puffs. These ‘hotels’ are much more geared towards locals than the more tourist fare found in Uppuveli and Nilaveli. This was great for Jellie as they were super cheap (literally a quarter of the cost of a meal near our hostel), spicy, and the flavours were bold and uncompromised by any attempt to pander to the Western palette. Our lunch of two vegetable rice and curries and a large bottle of water cost us 780 LKR (£1.97 or $2.17).
The Central market opposite the bus station was piled high with every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable. Mounds of dragonfruit, bananas of every shape and size and some of the biggest jackfruit we had ever seen, spilled out from stall tables and sacks on the floor. Stall holders shouting out to advertise their wares, just like their market brethren world over. We stumbled upon a very friendly lady selling fruit, who refused to take payment from us for the two bananas we wanted. The Central market was, although similar to other markets we had been too, a great little outing and we can now wholeheartedly recommend the bananas of Sri Lanka (especially the little ones).
As we had rolled into town around midday, the best of the fish market had already been sold, but even so, the market was still a hub of commerce. We would recommend arriving much earlier if you want to see at its full fever pitch (we have previously been to an amazing fish market in Negombo at 5am click here to read about it our experience.
Whale Watching and Other Things to Do in Trincomalee
If you are still looking for more ideas in Trincomalee, including Whale Watching, check out Tripadvisor or Get Your Guide:
The only reason we did not do the Whale watching was that there were no Whales to watch! We had come in the wrong season, if you want to see Whales make sure you visit between March - April or August-September.
Final Thoughts
If you’re staying on the beaches of Trincomalee (Uppuveli or Nilaveli) then you might be missing out on a lot of local flavour. Although lovely, the beaches are a tourist ecosystem and the food and daily life reflect this. For the price of a quick tuk tuk ride, a trip into Trincomalee reminds you of exactly where you are and how wonderful the food and people of Sri Lanka are.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
