Trincomalee is a city in Sri Lanka. Trincomalee has a very nice beach even during the summer.


Trincomalee (திருகோணமலை (Thirukonamalai, hist: Sirigonakanda); තිරිකුණාමළය (Thirikunamalaya)) is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. The town is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours.

Trincomalee is derived from the Tamil name Tiru-kona-malai, meaning "Sacred hill of the Lord". The ancient texts, as well as an inscription unearthed by archeologists, call it Gokarna in Sanskrit or Gokanna in Pali. The word Gokarna comes from the Sanskrit for "the ear of the cow" and suggests a place of Saivite religious significance. The Vayu Purana refers to a Siva temple on Trikuta hill on the eastern coast of Lanka in the 3rd century. The Mahavamsa documents that the King Mahasena destroyed a deva temple and built a Buddhist shrine in its stead to expiate for an earlier heresy on his part. . This explains the Buddhist archeological remains in the region. The South Indian Tevaram of Tiru-gnana Sambandar makes mention to the Siva temple in Trincomalee once again in the 6th century.

The Hindu temple was also documented in several late medieval texts such as the Konesar Kalvettu and the Dakshina Kailasa Puranam. This became the celebrated Konneswaram Temple. Unfortunately, much of this temple was destroyed by the Portuguese. The rebuilt temple, though smaller than Portuguese colonial sources suggest, has also become famous.

The Bay of Trincomalee is landlocked; the harbour is renowned for its large size and security; unlike every other in the Indian Sea, it is accessible to all types of craft in all weathers. The beaches are used for surfing, scuba diving and fishing and whale watching. The town also has the largest Dutch fortress in Sri Lanka. It is home to the Sri Lankan naval base and Sri Lankan Air Force base. Indian Navy has access to the port of Trincomalee under Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
History

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Trincomalee which is a natural deep-water harbour that has attracted sea farers like Marco Polo, Ptolemy and Sea Traders from China and East Asia since ancient times. The local name, Tirukonamalai, means "Sacred Hill of the Lord". The Sinhalese and Tamil historians have rival claims on the port city which probably reflects elements of both cultures from antiquity. Trinco, as it is commonly called, has been a sea port since the days of the ancient Kings. Parakramabahu I, circa 12th century, used Gokanna (Trinco) as his eastern port. An English sea captain and historical chronicle writer named Robert Knox came ashore by chance near Trinco and surrendered to the Dissawa (official) of the King of Kandy in 1659. Hence, it was an important trade city between Sri Lanka and the outside world, and one of the British Empire's most important ports in Asia during the second world war. From 1941-45, Trinco was the headquarters of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Allied Southeast Asia commander.

The Koneswaram temple attracted pilgrims from all parts of India. The SriGonakanda...