Pigeon Island National Park

Pigeon Island National Park is one of the two marine national parks in Sri Lanka. The national park is situated 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli, a coastal town in Eastern Province, encompassing a total area of 471.429 hectares.

Pigeon Island consists of two islands; large pigeon island and small pigeon island. The large pigeon island is fringed by a coral reef and is about 200 m long and 100 m wide. The national park contains some of the best remaining coral reefs of Sri Lanka. Its highest point is 44.8 m above mean sea level. The small pigeon island is surrounded by rocky islets. The national park is situated within the dry zone of Sri Lanka.

Many of the 100 species of corals and 300 coral reef fishes recorded around the Trincomalee area are found in the national park. juvenile and adult blacktip reef shark are seen around the shallow coral areas. Hawksbill turtle, green turtle, and olive ridley are the visiting sea turtles of the coral reef. The island is an important breeding ground for the rock pigeon. The pigeon island is also used as a scuba diving site.