Trincomalee is a major port city and the administrative headquarter of the Trincomalee District, located on Sri Lanka’s east coast province. With one of the best beaches in the country, tourism in Trincomalee is spellbinding. The landscape is surrounded by abundant wildlife, hilltops and rock structures. The Trincomalee peninsula separates the city’s internal and external ports and to reach Trincomalee, you can fly, get a train ride, go by bus or travel by taxi. Here’s a travel guide to help you in getting around in Trincomalee.
By Air: Sigiriya is the nearest airport to Trincomalee to a distance of 81 km, so you can take a flight from Colombo’s Domestic Airport which takes about half an hour by air. The onward journey from Sigirya Airport can be made by a Taxi.
By Train: You can travel by train to Trincomalee from the Colombo Fort Station, which takes about 3 ½ hours and is one of the best ways to travel to Trincomalee.
By Road: You can travel to Trincomalee either by bus or by cab. The distance between Trincomalee and Colombo is 240 km by road and takes roughly 4 hours. There’s a bus for Trincomalee from the Colombo Bastian Mawatha Bus Terminal. Yet another way to reach Trincomalee is to hire a taxi that will have you reach there in approx. 4 hours.
Trincomalee (Trinco) sits on one the world’s finest natural harbours. This historic city is old almost beyond reckoning: it’s possibly the site of historic Gokana in the Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle), and its Shiva temple the site of Trikuta Hill in the Hindu text Vayu Purana. Most people just pass through the city on their way to the nearby beaches of Uppuveli and Nilaveli, but the town has some charm, plenty of history and an interesting melange of people.
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.