Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and modish bathrooms and is set around a lovely pool that's perfect for laps. There's a
well-regarded spa (try the hydrotherapy treatments) and fine restaurant (grilled or barbe-
cued fish is superb).
Getting There & Away
The small town of Valaichchenai on the A15 coastal highway is the gateway to
Passekudah and Kalkudah. Buses (Rs 50, 50 minutes, every 20 minutes) connect
Valaichchenai with Batticaloa. Heading north, there are services to Trincomalee (Rs 152,
three hours, every 30 minutes).
Three-wheelers charge Rs 150 for the short hop between Valaichchenai and Passekudah
or Kalkudah.
Trincomalee
026 / Population 59,000
Trincomalee (Trinco) had a rough time in the war, but this fascinating town is beginning to
thrive again. Sitting on one of the world's finest natural harbours, Trincomalee is old al-
most 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, lots 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. Today the Sri Lankan armed forces control Fort Frederick, along with the
British-built airfield China Bay, to the south.
