Pigeon island
Pigeon Island is one of the three marine national parks in Sri Lanka which is an eye catching site filled with powder-like white sands and shimmering coral gardens. The national park is situated 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli, a coastal town in Eastern Province. This natural marvel is spread to area of 471.429 hectares containing some of the best coral reefs of Sri Lanka. This island was designated as a sanctuary in 1963 and declared as a 17th national park of Sri Lanka in 2003. There are two islands in pigeon islands. One is large pigeon island, edged with a huge coral reef which is 200m long and 100m wide. Another one is small pigeon island surrounded by several rocky islets.
The national park is situated within the dry zone of Sri Lanka, so the mean annual temperature is around 27.0 °C (80.6 °F). The most of the rain received in this area is during the North-eastern monsoon season from October to March which makes the annual rainfall ranges between 1,000–1,700 mm (39–67 in).
There are around 100 species of corals and 300 coral reef fishes recorded around the Trincomalee area are found in the national park. Blacktip reef sharks, Hawksbill turtle, green turtle and olive Ridley turtle are seen around this national park. Pigeon island national park gives satisfaction of diving and joy of watching pleasant coral reefs and amazing creatures.
