Things to Do in Trincomalee & Uppuveli: Sri Lanka’s Wild East

General Information about Trincomalee

The region around Trincomalee has been through some tough times.

The decades-long civil war raged particularly fiercely here, and the 2004 tsunami also struck the area with full force.

It’s only been a few years since the east has slowly begun opening up to tourists. Now is your chance to experience a piece of unspoiled Sri Lanka that is increasingly disappearing in the west and south of the island.

Locals affectionately call the place Trinco, and we’re happy to follow suit.

Things to Do in Trincomalee

Eastern Sri Lanka has a strong Hindu influence. So, right off the bat, a small note: Jenny walked around there wearing long pants and a T-shirt (covering her legs and shoulders), and out of respect it’s advisable to do the same — though none of the tourists in Uppuveli paid any attention to that when going swimming.

But moving on: thanks to that Hindu influence, two Hindu temples rank among the most interesting attractions here. Right in the center, across from the bus station, you’ll find the Sri Pathrakali Temple.

Much larger and more impressive is the Thiru Koneswaram Temple, which is one of the top highlights in Sri Lanka. With its large Shiva statue, the Thiru Koneswaram perches on a hill overlooking Trinco.

The temple sits on the grounds of the old Dutch fort. So you can easily combine your temple visit with a stroll through the fort.

Just like at a Buddhist temple, you’ll need to remove your shoes here. There are dedicated shelves at the entrance where you can store them safely for a small tip.

Once you reach the top, you’re not only standing before the impressive Shiva statue — you also get a stunning view of the ocean.

They say that with a bit of luck you can even spot whales from up here. We can’t confirm that, though.

The fort also surprised us with a very unexpected sight: the deer of Trincomalee.

Wild deer and stags roam freely around the temple grounds — the kind you’d normally expect to find in European forests. The population has been living in Trinco for several centuries.

Since the animals aren’t hunted by locals and there’s always plenty of food around the temple, the deer aren’t shy at all and are totally happy to pose for a photo.

Trincomalee also has one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Today, however, the harbor no longer plays any role in international shipping.

A natural harbor isn’t necessarily all that impressive on its own — but if you’re a harbor enthusiast, it’s absolutely worth a look.

A must-see for every Trinco visitor is Pigeon Island. The small island, located about ten kilometers north of Trincomalee off the coast near Nilaveli, is one of Sri Lanka’s most beautiful national parks and a paradise for snorkelers.

Unfortunately it rained the entire time during our stay in Trincomalee, which is why we skipped Pigeon Island. Looks like we’ll just have to come back. Yay!

Uppuveli: The Most Beautiful Beach Town in the Area

We didn’t stay in Trincomalee itself, but in Uppuveli, about two kilometers to the north. The small town has a wonderful, long, wide sandy beach that ranks among Sri Lanka’s most beautiful beaches.

There are plenty of small restaurants here, and the beach in Uppuveli is far from crowded.

If the weather had been a bit better, we would have definitely kicked back and relaxed here longer — but we plan to come back someday anyway.

Whale Watching around Trincomalee

Along with Mirissa in the south, Trincomalee is seriously one of the best places in Sri Lanka to go whale watching. Various species frolic off the coast, including sperm whales and the massive blue whales.

The best time for whale watching is from May to October. You can book tours on every corner and at every guesthouse in Uppuveli and Trincomalee — it’s really that easy.

Tours depart in the early morning between 6:00 and 7:00 AM and take place on small motorboats.

Depending on your bargaining skills, you’ll pay around 6,000 LKR (approx. €40) per boat. It’s best to find a few other passengers beforehand so the cost per person goes down.

Since you’re heading out onto the open ocean, things can obviously get quite choppy. On our trip, our boat bounced pretty hard over the waves.

We had the ultimate bad luck on our tour: after traveling about 100 meters, the engine gave out. The spark plugs! And of course our driver had forgotten to pack any spares.

Eventually another boat came along and together they managed to get our boat working well enough to at least make it back to shore and swap the spark plugs.

Once the engine was running again, it started pouring — really pouring. Oh no, we had our cameras with us!

We threw ourselves over our cameras and piled a stack of life jackets on top. Somehow we managed to keep our gear dry. That experience prompted us to pick up a waterproof dry bag for our electronics — honestly, don’t leave home without one.

The whales apparently had no interest in the rain either and didn’t show themselves that day. Too bad! But we did see plenty of dolphins, and every now and then a flying fish zipped past our boat.

The whale season was already winding down in October, and the chances hadn’t been the best to begin with. So we were already prepared for disappointment.

Getting to Trincomalee

There are several ways to get to Trincomalee. We flew directly from Colombo to Trinco and will walk you through all the options below.

Flying from Colombo to Trincomalee with Helitours

Domestic flights aren’t really common in Sri Lanka. There are a few small domestic airlines, but tickets are generally outrageously expensive. Helitours is an exception.

Helitours is part of the Sri Lanka Air Force but also offers domestic flights for civilians. Tickets are a flat 4,650 LKR (approx. 30 euros) and can be booked online on the Helitours website. If you want to book within 48 hours of departure, online booking is unfortunately no longer available.

In that case, you’ll need to go to the Helitours office in Colombo (address: Sir Chithampalam Gardiner Mawatha) and buy the ticket in person. It’s best to call ahead at 0113-144244 to check whether seats are still available.

The airport in Trincomalee is a bit outside of town — about 10 kilometers to Trinco and 12 kilometers to Uppuveli. A few tuk-tuk drivers wait outside the terminal to pick up Helitours passengers; otherwise, there’s no other way to get from there.

Your bargaining position is therefore not great. Budget around 800 to 1,000 LKR to get to Uppuveli.

Getting to Trincomalee by Train

There’s also a train running between Colombo and Trincomalee. The journey takes approximately eight hours. It departs Colombo at 9:30 PM and arrives in Trincomalee the next morning at around 5:30 AM.

Tickets cost 370 LKR in second class (approx. 2.50 euros). Schedules can change, so it’s best to check the current times on the Sri Lanka Railways website.

Getting to Trincomalee by Bus

No matter where you want to go on your road trip through Sri Lanka, there’s always a bus. There are direct connections to Trincomalee from Colombo (six to eight hours), Polonnaruwa (one hour), Dambulla and Sigiriya (two hours each), and Kandy (four hours).

Buses run very frequently. Your best bet is to simply head to the bus station and ask when the next one to your destination departs.

Taking the bus in Sri Lanka is a real adventure and guaranteed to be uncomfortable. Short trips of up to two or three hours are fine, but we wouldn’t want to take the bus all the way from Colombo to Trinco.

Where to Stay in Trincomalee or Uppuveli

Trincomalee doesn’t have a whole lot to offer beyond the sights described above. We’d therefore recommend staying in nearby Uppuveli instead — you’ll have the beach right on your doorstep and plenty of great dining options.

We stayed at the Little White House, which was unfortunately our worst hotel experience in all of Sri Lanka. Surprisingly, the guesthouse otherwise has very good reviews — maybe we just caught a bad day during the off-season.

Right on the beach is of course the most expensive. But the second row is almost just as nice.

Browse hotels in Uppuveli and the surrounding area.

ATMs in Trincomalee and Uppuveli

The east of Sri Lanka doesn’t yet have widespread ATM coverage. In Uppuveli there is only one single ATM; in Trincomalee you’ll find a few more.

The ATM in Uppuveli is relatively far from most hotels. It’s best to stock up on cash beforehand. A tuk-tuk can take you from the hotels to the ATM and back for about 100 LKR.