Sri Lanka is a beautiful country surrounded by the sea on all four sides. When you consider the beaches all around the island, the beauty of each one is truly distinct. This is why foreign tourists love to travel so much in our country. There are, in fact, several famous beaches in Sri Lanka: Unawatuna, Mirissa, Jungle Beach, Arugam Bay, Pasikudah, and Nilaveli. These are all very well-known. To see all the beaches just mentioned, one would have to travel all around the country. So, how wonderful would it be if we could see several beaches, each with a bit of variety, located close to one another?
Today, we are preparing to seek out just such an area—the place we all know as Trincomalee. Trincomalee is a destination that many people have visited or at least heard of. The moment this area is mentioned, the Nilaveli Beach comes to mind. Nilaveli is one of the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka and the world.
However, if you are travelling in the Trincomalee area, there are several other beautiful beaches to see besides Nilaveli. But the beauty of these beaches is all different from one another—that is their special feature. Marble Beach, Elephant Beach, Green Beach, Sandy Beach, Nilaweli Beach, Dutch Beach, Uppuveli Beach, and **Coral Cove Beach** are all beautiful beaches located near Trincomalee. Today, we are heading to Coral Cove Beach.
To get to Coral Cove Beach, you need to enter the Eastern Naval Dockyard located in Trincomalee Bay. It is $268 \text{ km}$ from Colombo. This naval dockyard spans over $850 \text{ acres}$, and anyone entering it has several places they can visit: the Naval Museum, a boat tour, and even swimming and relaxing at a beach. But today, we are only going to Coral Cove Beach. I will tell you about the other places another day.
We entered the naval dockyard entrance and drove about three kilometres towards the Naval Museum. It felt exactly as if we were travelling through a deep jungle. Trincomalee Bay is encircled by a small mountain range. Because of this, the deep sea could be observed well from these peaks. It is believed that there is evidence this location has been used as a fortress since ancient times.
History records that King Parakramabahu I, who ruled with Polonnaruwa as his capital, dispatched a naval fleet from the Trincomalee harbour in the 12th century to invade Myanmar. Subsequently, the Portuguese, Dutch, and English, who invaded our country, further developed this location into a fortress. In any case, this area surrounding the Trincomalee harbour was a very important location for us during the recent period of war in our country.
Talking and travelling, we have now reached the turn-off for Coral Cove. We turned onto the road to the left at the junction, intending to go to Coral Cove Beach. Since the way is clearly marked with a signboard, finding the road poses no problem. We proceeded about $1 \text{ km}$ further along the road shaded by tree canopies and emerged onto Coral Cove Beach.
The sea is a bit rough these days. Because of this, the Navy does not permit tourists to enter the water. So, although we were not allowed to swim in the sea, we certainly did not forget to enjoy the charm of this beautiful coastline. We learned that the rough nature of the sea in this area typically subsides after February. They say that during that time, there is virtually no surf at all.
Coral Cove Beach is not located inside Trincomalee Bay; it is outside. However, even here, one can see the characteristics of a small sea cove. Sea waves cause a great deal of coastal erosion, and this is how sea cliffs are created. For this to happen, there must be a steep rocky system right along the coast. Countries with beautiful sea cliffs include Ireland, Hawaii (part of the USA), and the Greek island of Santorini. They say the most beautiful cliffs in the world are in Ireland. In our country, you can see characteristics of a cliff near the Trincomalee harbour.
I spoke about sea cliffs suddenly because of a view we witnessed after arriving at Coral Cove Beach. On the left side of this beach, there is a cliff-like feature with a steep slope, appearing almost as if someone constructed an embankment. You, too, can observe this sight when you visit one day.
The Navy has constructed several summer huts here. The summer huts built on stilts add a unique beauty to this location. We climbed up and took several beautiful photographs because of the exceptional charm it possessed.
So then, do make sure to visit here one day, travel, swim, eat, and enjoy these experiences!
