Seated Shiva
Some 10 to 11 m tall, above the cliffs.
Alexey Komarov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dulakshi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexey Komarov — CC BY 3.0 · AntanO — CC BY-SA 4.0 · G.Kiruthikan — CC BY-SA 4.0
Koneswaram Temple is a Hindu temple to Shiva on Swami Rock, a cliff-bound headland at the tip of Trincomalee's Fort Frederick peninsula. Often regarded as the most sacred of Sri Lanka's five ancient Shiva shrines, the Pancha Ishwarams, and the easternmost of them, it is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Tamil poet Sambandar praised it in his 7th-century Tevaram hymns, and Europeans called it the Temple of a Thousand Pillars. The Portuguese attacked it in 1622 and had demolished it by 1624, reusing its stones in the fort that preceded Fort Frederick. Images from the old temple were unearthed in 1950 while a well was dug, Arthur C. Clarke and Mike Wilson found its ruins on the seabed below in 1956, and a restored temple opened in 1963. A giant seated Shiva, some 10 to 11 metres tall, overlooks the cliffs, and a statue of Ravana, Lanka's king in the Ramayana, prays beside Ravana's Cleft, a fissure that legend says he split. The clifftop is also called Lovers' Leap, after a tale that a young Dutch woman, Francina van Reede, jumped from it in 1687; records show she remarried in 1694. Devotees praying for children tie small wooden cradles to the trees. The temple is about 2 km by road from Trincomalee's bus station, the last kilometre beyond Fort Frederick's stone gateway, past spotted deer and peacocks. Shoes come off at the entrance; cover shoulders and knees. The first puja is at 6:30 am; allow an hour. Pigeon Island National Park lies 16 km north as the crow flies.
Some 10 to 11 m tall, above the cliffs.
A cliff fissure said to be Ravana's work.
Along the road through the fort.
Swami Rock, Fort Frederick, Trincomalee
Occasionally. In season, roughly March to September, blue whales are found some 6 to 8 nautical miles east of Trincomalee and are now and then spotted from the rock, though most sightings are from boats.
During the chariot festival (Ther), which runs for several weeks each April around the Tamil New Year, and at Maha Shivaratri in February or March; for a quiet visit, avoid festival days.