The Koneswaram Temple is a clifftop promontory called Swami Rock that plunges 130 metres directly into the sea at Trincomalee harbour, offering panoramic views of the Bay of Bengal in every direction. The temple is a major centre of Shaivite Hindu worship in Sri Lanka, its origins traced back over two thousand years to a time when it was considered one of the most magnificent temples in Asia before being largely destroyed by Portuguese colonisers in the 17th century.