The best know town in the East Coast of
Ceylon is Trincomalee. It is as the mouth of the Mahaweli River. Ceylon’s
longest river, and has, as mentioned earlier, one of the best natural harbors
in the world. At the time it was captured by the British from the Dutch,
Trincomalee was described as “ The Finest & Most Advantageous bay in the
whole” if India in which is a whole fleet many safely ride & remain in
tranquility to bay which is of such importance to the English that is assures
their sovereignty over the west of India & places them in a position to
defend their possession against all European powers. Admiral Lord Nelson who as
a midshipman visited Trincomalee in the seventeen seventies, On H.M.S seahorse,
called it “The Finest Harbor in the world”
Trincomalee was also the back-door
through which the Dutch, Danes, French & British established contact with
the Sinhalese king when the western coast was controlled by the Portuguese
& Dutch. It was hear that the Dutchman de Boschower landed & remained
to be a friend of king Senarath of Kandy. Returning to Europe & haring
failed to get his own government to come to the aid of the Sinhalese in their
efforts to over throw the Portuguese, he persuaded the Danes to send a naval
mission to Ceylon, under the 24 years old ambassador Ove Gedde, which landed at
Trincomalee. The Portuguese built a fort where the temple of a thousand columns
stood, & held it for fourteen years.
The Dutch took Trincomalee in 1639,
planning in what is still known as Dutch Bay. In 1672, the French occupied a
couple of island in the bay. The Dutch recaptured the island &held
Trincomalee for the next 110 years. The English emissary John Pybus landed in
Kottiyar, south of Trincomalee, in 1762 & visited the king of the kandy. It
was the first fort to fall to the English in 1795.
Trincomalee is 265.53km from Colombo by
road, there is also a train service. Today many refer to go by air from
Colombo. From Anuradhapura the town is 106.21km by a good road. At one time
& especially during the second world war, Trincomalee was an important
naval station. A good deal of Ceylon tea is now shipped through the Trincomalee
harbor.
There are god hotel & rest houses.
There are several island in the harbor, the chief of which, Sober Island, is a
popular resort for picnics. Swami Rocks, 121.92m high, was once the site of a
Hindu temple. Here may be seen a monument to Francina Van Rhode, the daughter
of a Dutch official who tradition says, became engaged to an officer &, on
his sailing away, flung herself in to the sea. The ancient “Koneswaram” temple has been recently
resorted.
The main road & the railway track
from “Polonnaruwa” join the east coast passing a group of small towns before
reaching Batticaloa, the administrative capital of the Eastern in province. At Gal
Oya (Gal Brook) junction (not to be confused with Gal Oya of the river
valley scheme much further south) the railway branches to
Trincomalee & Batticaloa. Before reaching “Chenkaladi” the road passes
several interesting tanks or lakes. Particularly Vakaneri, with abundant bird
life. About 48.28km island we passes Maha Oya (Maha Brook) 4.0km. From the Maha
Oya , at Kanniyai, are the beast known hot springs in Ceylon. Same springs are
so hot that you could boil an egg in the water. Others are cooler. From one
cold water flows. A small cement canal has been built a anyone who cares to can
mix cold with hot baths. The spring are named according to the legend, after
kanniyai, the mother of the prehistoric king, Ravana.
There is a small “Veddha “ (Trapper)
village near Maha Oya. Veddhas descendants of aborigines who live in the
jungles, come to a fair at Maha Oya which is held on Wednesday, to sell honeys,
& forest products.
From the low ground around the
“Vakaneri” tank rises impressively in the distance the towering mass of granite
traditionally called “Dimbul-Gaha” but also named Gunner’s Quoin. It is said to
have been the principal quarry which supplied the stone for many images.
Pillars steps of the medieval capital of Polonnaruwa. There is an air service
to Batticaloa. Whence “Valachenai” &
“Kalkudah” can be reached easily. Ceylon’s first paper factory is at
Valachenai. Kalkudah, 4.02km from the “Gal Oya” railway junction, has excellent
sea bathing & a good couple of hotels and rest house. It is the landing
place for Batticaloa during the north east monsson..
Batticaloa itself is an old Dutch town
with ruins of a fort close to the present rest house. Admiral Joris Van
Spliberger landed here about in 1602 & made his way to Kandy via
“Mahiyanganaya”. The Sinhalese name for Batticaloa is “ Madakalapuwa, or Muddy
Lagoon”. It is muddy but when the moon is out one may bear the singing fish.
The beat place to here them singing is about the centre of the lagoon bridge on
the road to the south. A rescoring has been made from the bridge, six or seven
different pitches being heard.
The railway ends at Batticaloa but the
coastal road continues south passing small towns such as “Kalmunai” &
“Akkaraipattu” until “Arugam Bay” is reached. The beaches of the east coast are
broad & sunny. Arugam Bay itself, 109.43km south of Batticaloa, has a fine
sea front & facilities for bathing while good sport is had in the forest
that comes down to the sea. There is a very good circuits bungalow at Arugam
Bay, especially built & equipped for tourists. 16.09km from Arugam Bay , if
you take the road inland you come to “Lahugala” where every day large herds of
elephants in their natural state may be seen.
From “Kalmunai” to “Gal Oya” valley
multi-purpose scheme is but a short distance through a vast expanse of fertile
paddy fields. The scheme controls a 99.78km river called the “ Gal Oya” with a
catchment of 181300sq m receiving 190.5cm to 254cm for rain annually. It serves
three main purposes, namely, irrigation, food control & the generation of
hydroelectric power. The construction of the main Dam at “Inginiyagala” the
spillway, the hydro-electric power station, & the first twelve miles of the
principal channels that carry water from the reservoir was completed by an
American firm of engineers, Morrison- Knudsen international co. in 1953. The
reservar was filled to elevation 76.2m. in 1952 & was named “Senanayaka
Samudraya after the man who promoted the scheme , the Hon’ble D.S Senanayaka,
first prime minister of Ceylon. It has a water spread of 7270sqm, & at full
supply level a short-line 96.56km long. It irrigates about 485625200sq m of
land in the Gal Oya valley. Mr.J.S Kennady one time director of irrigation, was
mainly responsible for the technical formulation of the scheme.
The country around has an ancient
history. An inscribed pillar discovered near “Amparai”, the chief town in the
valley, shoes that it was set up in the 10th century in the regin of
a king named “Duppula iv” (A.D 924-935) it names the district Digavapa mandala &
throws light on the area as it was a thousand five hundred years ago.
There are two good rest houses
“Inginiyagala”, on the banks of the lake and “Amparai” ,a busy market town.
There are thousands of colonist settlements scattered over the valley. The river
valley board itself carries on certain industries, such as sugar plantations, a
sugar mill, manufacture of potable spirits & boat-building. The hardy
institute provides a training in various technical fields. At “Dighavapi” there
is an ancient Buddhist temple which is being excavated & resorted by the
archaeological department. The administrative centre is at “Uhana”, not far
from the aerodrome.
The flight from Colombo takes less than
an hour. One on the chief attraction of Gal Oya is the bird life in the lake
which has been declared a protected area. A trip round the lake in a motor boat
takes one near the jungle & it is sometimes possible to pick out elephant,
wild buffalo & deer. On the eastern side of the valley there is a very good
circuit bungalow at “Ekgal Aru” with lovely views.
