Things to do in Nilaveli
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Pigeon Island
Floating in the great blue a short way offshore, Pigeon Island, with its powdery white sands and glittering coral gardens, tantalises with possibilities. However, though it used to be a very popular day-trip destination, today – thanks to a navy ban on boat trips, diving and snorkelling excursions and anything else that could be termed as fun in the sun – it has gone back to being the archetypical desert island. Having said that, for the really determined, it’s possible to reach, but you must first arrange a naval escort through the Nilaveli Beach Hotel. This will cost around Rs 2500 for half a day (give a day’s notice). They’ll normally pick you up in a small zodiac boat…
reviewed
-
Nilaveli Beach
For years Nilaveli has been considered one of Sri Lanka’s most perfect beaches. It certainly has that feeling of paradise-island remoteness, with plenty of bending palms swaying over the golden sand. Good it may be, but in reality things aren’t quite as heavenly as they seem here. It’s not far from the recent front line and soldiers are everywhere, which kind of spoils the happy holidays’ mood. This is made plainly obvious in the numerous army checkpoints on the road into town and the massive military camp that sits right in the middle of the beach.
reviewed
