A dramatic clifftop Hindu temple to Shiva on Swami Rock, high above the ocean at the tip of the Trincomalee headland.

Overview

Koneswaram is one of the most sacred and spectacularly sited Hindu temples in Sri Lanka, standing on Swami Rock where the promontory drops sheer to the Indian Ocean. Pilgrims come to worship Shiva as Konesar amid brightly painted gopurams, statues and sea views. The cliff edge, known as Lover's Leap, offers a giddy panorama over the bay, and the temple is reached by driving up through Fort Frederick past grazing wild deer.

History

An ancient shrine revered as one of the Pancha Ishwarams of Shiva, the medieval temple complex was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1624, who used its stones to build the fort on the headland. The present temple was rebuilt in the 20th century, and a bronze Shiva idol recovered from the sea now stands within it.