Pigeon Island National Park
One of the three marine national parks of Sri Lanka, 1 km off the coast at Nilaveli, protecting some of the best remaining coral reefs on the island. It takes its name from the rock pigeons that live there, and people come to snorkel over the reef.
- Where
- Nilaveli, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 8.7167, 81.2000
Get the Pigeon Island National Park stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Pigeon Island National Park. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Eastern Province volume with your photos and a note.
Near Pigeon Island National Park
Kanniya Hot Springs 13 km
Seven hot wells set in a square near Trincomalee, each only about a metre deep, with water clear enough to see the bottom. Each runs at a slightly different temperature, and a well empties after ten or fifteen buckets are drawn.
Koneswaram Temple 16 km
A temple to Shiva on Konesar Malai, the promontory above Trincomalee, with Gokarna bay and the Indian Ocean below. Known as the Temple of the Thousand Pillars, it is the most sacred of the Pancha Ishwarams of Sri Lanka.
Seruwila Mangala Raja Maha Vihara 41 km
An ancient Buddhist temple in Trincomalee District, ninth of the Solosmasthana, the sixteen holiest Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Sri Lanka. It is identified with the historic Thissamaha Viharaya.
Medirigiriya Vatadage 66 km
A circular relic house on a rock in the village of Medirigiriya, north of Polonnaruwa, with rings of slender stone pillars around a central stupa. It is protected by the government as an archaeological monument.
Somawathiya Chaitya 66 km
An ancient Buddhist stupa and temple in the plains near the border of the Polonnaruwa and Trincomalee districts. It is said to enshrine a tooth relic of the Buddha and draws pilgrims across the Mahaweli flood plain.
Kaudulla National Park 70 km
A park around the Kaudulla tank, declared in 2002 as the 15th national park on the island. With Minneriya and Girithale it forms an Important Bird Area, and elephants come to graze at the water's edge.
Mihintale 85 km
A hill near Anuradhapura where, by tradition, the monk Mahinda met King Devanampiyatissa and so brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Stone stairs climb past shrines, stupas and ruins to the summit, still a place of pilgrimage.
Gal Vihara 86 km
Four Buddhas cut into one granite rock face for King Parakramabahu I in the 12th century: a large seated figure, a smaller one in a carved cave, a standing figure and a reclining one. They are among the finest works of ancient Sinhalese sculpture and the most visited sight in Polonnaruwa.
More hidden gems in Eastern Province
Questions
Where is Pigeon Island National Park?
Pigeon Island National Park is in Nilaveli, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Kanniya Hot Springs (13 km), Koneswaram Temple (16 km), Seruwila Mangala Raja Maha Vihara (41 km).
How do I get the Pigeon Island National Park stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Pigeon Island National Park and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Eastern Province volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Pigeon Island National Park before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Eastern Province volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.