Kalpitiya
Sri Lanka · Indian Ocean
Northwestern Sri Lanka's wild coast hosts the country's largest coral reef system and some of the Indian Ocean's most reliable whale shark aggregations and spinner dolphin superpods, best experienced from January through April.
How this reef is doing
ⓘ How we measure thisReef state
Live coral covers 12% of this reef.
Coral cover
Fish life
Heat
Fishing
Open to fishing, and the water is fairly quiet.
Sources · MERMAID and the survey teams · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity
Coral cover over time
Live coral cover, by survey year
Across surveys in 2024 and 2025, live coral cover here has risen from 10% to 12%. Every point is a real survey reading, never a projection.
Live coral cover, percent by year
| Year | Coral cover |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10% |
| 2025 | 12% |
What you will see
21 species across the dive sites here
Indian Garden Lizard
Seen 22 days ago
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Least concern
Indian Roller
Seen 22 days ago
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Near threatened
Yellow-Billed Babbler
Seen 5 months ago
at Dutch Bay Wall
Least concern
Great Knot
Seen 9 months ago
at Whale Shark Corridor
Endangered
House Crow
Seen 9 months ago
at Bar Reef
Least concern
Tibetan Sand-Plover
Seen Mar 2025
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Spinner Dolphin
Seen Feb 2025
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Least concern
Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Seen Mar 2024
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Endangered
Napoleon Wrasse
Seen Feb 2024
at Bar Reef
Endangered
Queen Coris
Seen Feb 2024
at Whale Shark Corridor
Least concern
Emperor Angelfish
Seen Feb 2024
at Whale Shark Corridor
Least concern
Longfin Bannerfish
Seen Feb 2024
at Whale Shark Corridor
Least concern
Spotted Boxfish
Seen Feb 2024
at Whale Shark Corridor
Least concern
Blacktip Reef Shark
Seen year round
at Bar Reef
Vulnerable
Chromodoris Nudibranch
Seen year round
at Dutch Bay Wall
Frogfish
Seen year round
at Dutch Bay Wall
Least concern
Green Sea Turtle
Seen year round
at Bar Reef
Least concern
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
Seen year round
at Spinner Dolphin Pass
Near threatened
Pharaoh Cuttlefish
Seen year round
at Dutch Bay Wall
Oceanic Manta Ray
Seasonal visitor
at Whale Shark Corridor
Endangered
Whale Shark
Seasonal visitor
at Whale Shark Corridor
Endangered
Dive sites
Bar Reef
green sea turtle · napoleon wrasse · blacktip reef shark · tibetan sand-plover
Whale Shark Corridor
whale shark · oceanic manta ray · spinner dolphin · spotted boxfish
Spinner Dolphin Pass
spinner dolphin · indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin · indian ocean humpback dolphin · indian roller
Dutch Bay Wall
pharaoh cuttlefish · chromodoris nudibranch · frogfish · indian garden lizard