Eastern Province (Sri Lanka)

Eastern Sri Lanka is a province in Sri Lanka.

Cities

 * &mdash; The Eastern Province's capital. It is also a deep-water naval base
 * &mdash; the second largest city of the Eastern Province amid sea and lagoons
 * &mdash; the administrative capital of the Ampara District
 * &mdash; the administrative capital of the Sammanthurai Area

Other destinations

 * &mdash; a popular surfing and tourist destination
 * &mdash; a crescent-moon bay with shallow water and fringing reefs
 * &mdash; a long sand strip, quite clean for Lankan standards and well maintained

Get in
Trains run from Colombo to Trincomalee (7 hours 35 minutes day, 8 hours sleeper, three per day) and Batticaloa (8 hours 40 minutes day, 9 hours sleeper, two per day) but note there is no train directly linking these two cities.

Do

 * Swim in the blue water of Passikudah bay
 * Learn to ride a wave at Arugam Bay
 * Take a boat ride to experience snorkeling around Pigeon Island Island National Park (Nilaveli)
 * Tour the swamps south of Arugam Bay and watch exotic birds and huge crocodiles