Is the coral garden in Nilaveli still healthy for snorkeling?

The coral gardens around Pigeon Island, just off Nilaveli, are some of the best remaining in Sri Lanka. While there has been some bleaching in the past, the recovery has been good. You can see large tables of staghorn coral and massive brain corals. Fish life is extremely abundant with parrotfish, butterflyfish, and anemonefish. Most tourists are excited to see the harmless blacktip reef sharks that patrol the shallow reef edges.