Nilaveli, located in the Trincomalee district on the east coast of Sri Lanka, is an unparalleled little beach town. This gem should not be skipped.
The thing with Nilaveli, however, is that it is a bit out of the way. It means veering way east for this one stop, to then work your way in-land again. But it is worth it. More remote and uncrowded than the popular beach resort areas of the south, such as Mirissa, means this spot is even more alluring for the traveller wanting to really experience Sri Lanka in its true natural beauty.
Don’t go expecting a hive of activity, but take your sunscreen, beachwear, perhaps a good book and an underwater camera should you have one, and hype yourself up for a relaxing beach trip with the must do activity of snorkelling at Pigeon Island.
The Journey
Anuradhapura – Nilaveli
To reach Nilaveli, you must first head to Trincomalee.
So, we departed Anuradhapura by bus to Trincomalee, then got on another bus to realise it wasn’t going to leave for a while, and was going to take way longer than the actual journey time. Therefore we jumped off, risking losing our seats if we wanted back on (the most dreaded thing on Sri Lankan public transport, unless you don’t mind getting very up close and personal with the others travelling. I mean, that still happens even when sitting, lets be real, just to a lesser extent). Anyway, hopping off was the best thing. We jumped on a tuktuk, realising it would be around the same price each and way faster (the perks of having three of us squeeze in with all our stuff, although always a mission..). So, by tuktuk we rode off from Trincomalee into Nilaveli itself, the warm breeze and reckless driving more pleasant than the stifling, sweaty, sardine-like bus.
Arriving in Nilaveli – Accommodation
Living the ultimate no plans life, we approached Nilaveli but had no particular destination to head to – accommodation? What accommodation? Why would we have booked that already? A quick Google search en route listed some options, and we simply asked to get taken to one of them. This worked out well, and on our first potential accommodation stop we found ourselves dismounting the tuktuk and saying hello to our home for the next two nights – Pearl Inn Green, Nilaveli.
At Peal Inn Green we were welcomed to palm trees, cloudless azure skies, a lovely outdoor dining area, bungalows with two double beds and a good sized bathroom, professional staff, in addition to good, clean, friendly vibes… Looking back, the accommodation was quite simple, but it was paradise compared to the accommodation we had just come from in Anuradhapura. All that was missing was some air con, but hey, you can’t have it all (not for so cheap anyway).
Another positive of this accommodation is that it made dinner an easy feat. There is no need to search for anywhere to go as you can pre-order the dinner special earlier in the day, sit down at the designated time and enjoy the meal right outside your little bungalow.
Nilaveli Beach
What do you go to Nilaveli for? The beach! And it does not disappoint.
Nilaveli beach is gorgeous. Picture perfect white sand, palm trees, turquoise water. The wooden beach cabanas are a great touch too – you can have some respite from the sun and an extra bonus, get yourself on some higher ground from the many dogs (and sometimes cows!) roaming around. By the way, don’t expect to cool down too much in the water – it feels like a bath. There is no escaping the heat in Sri Lanka!
The main area of the beach is pretty bustling (not so much the more north/south you go). There are many speed boats docked on the sand for taking people across to Pigeon Island, fishermen roaming around, and locals enjoying the ocean too. There is also a restaurant right at the beach (of course more expensive than those located on the streets just off the beach though). Perfect for a chocolate milkshake to cool you down though – that’s what I opted for anyway!
With sudden happiness at the sight of the beach, we got settled down for a relaxing afternoon in the scorching sun. I was SO happy to see the beach, and such a beautiful one at that.
The relaxing, paradise vibe was somewhat reversed, however, when I decided I would go for my first run in Sri Lanka (I like to run). Neither the heat nor the soft sand were the major problem, nope. As noted, there are many stray dogs on the beach (and everywhere in Sri Lanka). By going for a run I set myself up for my first real encounter with them, it was terrifying. Oh, I also encountered an officer in army clothes telling me I was trespassing. What a drama.
Basically, I started running and all was okay. I figured the dogs would leave, they did. But then more came. I decided to stop running as it was getting too much to handle. Of course, now I was just enclosed by them. They were relentless. I spent some time deliberating what to do, being unable to move unless I wanted to be bitten to death. To my relief, I could see two Sri Lankan men in the distance. I was giving them the silent stare of ‘oh my god please can you help me?’, the fear in my face apparent. Eventually they turned to start walking towards me, still far away. For some reason, the dogs dispersed around this time. I feel these men were my saviours in this moment, even if they didn’t really do anything. I could sense their concern for me, that they were going to come and help, and for that I was appreciative. Honestly so shocked I did not come away with a mad bite after that.
With the dogs gone, having run back in the direction of the main beach, I refused to run back yet in fear of them finding me again. I continued on, and was soon joined by a lone dog. This one was okay, he literally just ran alongside me, I think he was having fun (more so than me anyway). I once again stopped to try to get rid of him, it worked eventually, as in, EVENTUALLY.
Anyway, somewhere in the midst of the dog drama, I had, unbeknown to me, entered a forbidden area on the beach. As an officer came towards me, I had no idea what was occurring. He managed to explain this area was off-limits, that I wasn’t allowed to be there. I was baffled for a while by what he was trying to tell me. The communication was not good, we could not speak each other’s language. I turned to go back the way I had come (I had to get back to main beach) but he insisted I could not go that way, it is forbidden to be on this section of sand. I tried to explain I didn’t know what he expected me to do – where should I go? Each of us alternating hand gestures and words the other did not understand. Eventually, thankfully, he let me off and sent me back in the direction I had come from.
The way back was less dramatic. I was pretty happy to reach the main area again! All of this on about a 4km run. Running and Sri Lanka are not a great mix.
So, yeah, be careful if wanting to explore further along the beach. I now believe the out-of-bounds area exists because this is a navy camp. Don’t trespass, unless you really want a somewhat awkward encounter with a (hopefully) nice officer.
Following the beach afternoon it was time to head back to the accommodation before dinner at the accommodation and a chilled night. We had a lovely little walk back experiencing the streets of Nilaveli at golden hour, a pretty sunset gleaming through the trees, bakery tuktuks roaming the streets with that tune they play to know they around, and experiencing the striking feature of Nilaveli that is the cows wandering around the streets (they like the beach too!).
Day one in Nilaveli – complete!
Time for day two, which brought with it the must do activity when visiting Nilaveli. Time to go to..
Pigeon Island National Park
The highlight of a trip to Nilaveli lies in taking a short trip across the water to Pigeon Island National Park.
Prepare yourself for a gorgeous little island and an intricate underwater scene. Experiencing the coral reefs below the surface, teeming with wildlife, is the true magic of this national park. It is easy to come up close to the reef as it is so shallow, and a swim here means sharing the waters with not only hundreds of fish, but also black tip reef sharks and turtles.
How to get there? Pigeon Island is accessible by speedboat from Nilaveli Beach. This can be arranged either through your accommodation or by talking to some of the workers themselves on the beach. They will most likely approach you before you get the chance to approach them – this happened to use as soon as we arrived at the beach the first day. Just be careful not to be scammed – always ask around for the best price, and try to bargain with them. Snorkel equipment will be offered for hire too.
The trip tends to last around 2/3 hours. This is plenty of time to swim, relax, take it all in. There are no facilities on the island, so go prepared, and don’t take too many valuables as you will abandon everything to jump in and explore life under the sea.
We set off around 9am for Pigeon Island – what a great way to start the day, heading for a snorkel on a little island paradise! Having organised our boat the previous day, we simply had to make our way to the main beach to our designated speed boat to take us across to the national park.
On arrival, it wasn’t too busy, but the crowds picked up in the next hour or so. There was a pleasant buzz about the place. It never got to the point that it felt overly crowded, but I imagine in peak season it possibly could.
Our snorkel experience began on the northern side of the island, before a little break/beach chill/swing on the beach swings, and then it was time to explore the under water scene of the southern side. The water itself was bliss – calm, clear, warm and of course full of hidden beauties.
Snorkelling on the south provided the best experience on this occasion, it was here we spotted black tip reef sharks, both babies and adults. This was super cool! Unfortunately we didn’t spot any turtles on our visit, but the sharks mixed with the bountiful colourful fish and the amazing coral reef provided an excellent snorkelling experience.
Super content at how the morning had gone, the remainder of the day was spent relaxing once again on the main beach. Deserved after a morning of snorkel fun! Again treated to a pretty sunset on the walk back to the accommodation and another curry for dinner, we were feeling very satisfied with our time here. Nilaveli was well worth the addition to our itinerary!
Another sleep and it was time to say goodbye to this lovely beach town, jump on a tuktuk to Trincomalee and head off on the bus to Sigiriya for the next part of the travels.
