East Coast
Trincomalee
Calm turquoise bays and reefs.
One of the world's finest natural harbours, with a Hindu temple on the cliff above it and some of the calmest swimming water on the island in the bays to the north.
The east runs on the opposite monsoon to the south and west, so Trincomalee is at its best from roughly May to September — which makes it the answer when the southern coast is wet.
Highlights
What you do here.
Koneswaram Temple
The cliff-top temple on Swami Rock, above a two-hundred-foot drop to the sea.
Pigeon Island snorkelling
A short boat hop to living reef and reef sharks, on a permit and with a guide.
Uppuveli and Nilaveli
Long, shallow, swimmable beaches with a fraction of the south coast's crowds.
