Pigeon Island

Shallow fringing reef marine park 1 km off Nilaveli on Sri Lanka's east coast, named for the rock pigeons nesting on its two granite outcrops. Reef structure sits in 3-15 m and carries over 100 hard and soft coral species — Acropora and Montipora tables alongside Sinularia leather corals — and roughly 300 reef fish including Moorish idols, parrotfish, butterflyfish, lionfish, moray eels, and Kuhl's stingrays. Blacktip reef sharks aggregate predictably in the shallow sand patches north of the main island during the calm May-September season; hawksbill and green turtles graze the coral heads year round, and octopus, nudibranchs, and pipefish work the cracks. The 2004 tsunami and recent bleaching events have left scars, but coral cover here remains the healthiest along Sri Lanka's east coast.