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By-Aasath.Y.M
he Eastern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee. Eastern province has an area of 9,996 square kilometres (3,859 sq mi). The province is surrounded by the Northern Province to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Southern Province to the south, and the Uva, Central and North Central provinces to the west. The province's coast is dominated by lagoons, the largest being Batticaloa Lagoon, Kokkilai lagoon, Upaar Lagoon and Ullackalie Lagoon. The Eastern province's population was 1,551,381 in 2012. The province is the most diverse in Sri Lanka, both ethnically and religiously. The population of the province, like that of the Northern Province, was heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the
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relative safety of the capital Colombo. The conflict has also caused some of the Tamils, Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the province to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the province since the end of the civil war. Nilaveli Beach in Sri Lanka Nilaveli beach is considered one of the purest white sand beaches in Asia. It has remained protected from tourists and visitors for a long time because of the war and after the war thousands of people are visiting Trincomalee and the Nilaveli beach. With the reconstruction of the roads and the newly built hotels the visitor count is ever growing and the beach is losing some of its serenity. Nilaveli beach is relatively less crowded than most beaches in Sri Lanka and you want find many small shops or various other traders. Although this makes it ideal to relax sometimes it is an inconvenience because you can't find a place to have a quick bite. Nilaveli beach hotel is the oldest and the most prominent hotel near the area. Although there is a new luxury hotel in Chaya Blue. Most people who can't afford a stay in a luxury hotel prefer to stay in small houses and small hotels in the nearby area. There are plenty of these around so you want have trouble finding one. Visiting Pigeon Island, going snorkeling in the nearby corals and dolphin watching are some of the activities available to you to do in your leisure time.