Pigeon Island National Park, which is situated 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli (Approx. 15 km from Trincomalee), Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, is one of the two Marine National Parks in Sri Lanka. Pigeon Island was designated as a sanctuary in 1963 and in 2003 it was designated as a national park. The total area of the island is 471.429 hectares and was used as a shooting range during the colonial era. The national park contains some of the best remaining coral reefs of Sri Lanka.
Pigeon Island is a nesting area for rock pigeons. Pigeon Island, with its powdery white sands, is home to dozens of corals, hundreds of reef fish and turtles. 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 reef here is shallow, making snorkelling almost as satisfying as diving.
The island's coral reef's vegetation is dominated by Acropora spp. with some Montipora spp. Faviidae, Mussidae and Poritidae species dominate the coral reef around the rocky islets. Areas with soft corals such as Sinularia, Lobophyton, and Sarcophyton can also be observed.