Nilaveli and Pigeon Island: East Coast Snorkelling
Nilaveli is one of the east coast’s finest beaches, a broad ribbon of pale sand and shallow turquoise water. Just offshore, Pigeon Island National Park protects some of the country’s best-preserved coral.
Pigeon Island
A short boat ride reaches the marine national park, where you can snorkel over living coral and often see reef fish, turtles and blacktip reef sharks in the shallows. Visitor numbers are limited to protect the reef.
The beach
Nilaveli’s calm, shallow water makes for easy swimming, and it stays quieter than the beaches around Uppuveli closer to Trincomalee.
Season
The east coast is at its best from around May to September, when the south-west is wet. Seas are calmest and clearest then.
Nearby
Trincomalee’s clifftop Koneswaram temple and natural harbour are a short drive south.
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