Sri Lanka is a one stop destination to make all your imaginary adventures a reality. From cool scenic tea hills, ancient historical ruins, rock fortresses, relaxing beach destinations or even for a wildlife safari and so many more different experiences, you have got it all in Sri Lanka!
If your next dream destination is Sri lanka then one place you should never miss is the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage! It is an amazing family attraction spot where you can enjoy the up close view of elephants or even take selfies with them along with your little ones getting a one of a kind experience. This wildlife sanctuary is located in the Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka, near Kegalle approximately 73.6 km away from the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport.
The pinnawala elephant orphanage was established in the year 1975 by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation as a captive elephant based recreation facility. The remarkable purpose of this wildlife facility is to help injured, orphaned elephants in the wild who cannot survive independently. Even though this started as a small care facility in the beginning,overtime it became one of the major tourist attractions of this country with an average of 12,000 tourists visiting the orphanage each month. As per the updates given by the world wildlife fund, this orphanage currently has nearly 96 elephants and it is considered to be the largest captive elephant orphanage in the world.
At this place you can enjoy the pleasure of observing elephants up close and engage in daily activities of elephants such as feeding , bathing or even going for a ride on them. The Pinnawala elephant orphanage is open from morning 8:30am till 5:30pm in the afternoon. However, the best time to visit this location is stated to be between 9am to 1pm as the elephants in this place engage in their day to day activities according to a structured daily routine to ensure the well being of these magnificent mammals. According to their schedule there are specific times for 5 mandatory daily activities such as bathing, feeding, exercising and resting. One of the major attractions of all the below activities is elephant bathing.
The times allocated for certain activities are as follows,
1. Morning Feeding
● Time: Around 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
If you are looking for a more relaxed experience, its recommended to visit this location within weekdays Monday to Friday as it can be really crowded during weekends and public holidays. Moreover the ideal time to visit this location is between 9am to 1pm to have a better experience.
With over 12,000 tourists visiting this sanctuary monthly, Elephants has become one of the major tourist attractions making a massive contribution to the local economy of Sri Lanka providing jobs and many more opportunities to the local community to sustain. Presently, elephants are declared to be endangered species as they are only in Africa and Asia. With less than 50,000 Asian elephants left on earth, Sri Lankan elephants hold a great value. In Sri Lanka you can notice the darkest subspecies of elephants with slight depigmentation patches in certain areas which is very rare to be seen.
The ticket prices for the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage vary based on age and nationality of the visitors.
The ticket price for Sri Lankan local children under 12 years of age is 120 LKR. Meanwhile the ticket price for Sri Lankan Adults (12 years and above) is 295 LKR.
For Foreign Visitors the ticket price for children under 12 years of age is 6 USD and for adults it’s 11 USD. Furthermore, for Non-SAARC foreign adult the ticket price is 16 USD.
If you are planning to visit Sri lankan, one significant thing you should be aware of is that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist nation and elephants are considered to be one of the major cultural symbolism in the buddhist culture as no buddhist possession would be complete without an elephant being significant. Since ancient times elephants were symbolised as majestic creatures that display power, strength and divinity. They were also considered as royal companions for former kings of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, they are also featured in Sri lankan emblems, religious festivals,national icons and various ceremonies as well. Elephants are also considered to be sacred animals as they are appointed to carry the Sacred Tooth Relic in ceremonial processions. In the recent Kandy Esala Perahara which is a grand cultural festival of Sri Lankans that took place from 10th August to 20th August 2024 was enlightened by the presence of five captive elephants from the pinnawala elephant orphanage that are trained to be used for these religious possessions with great honour. Most of the large buddhist temples in Sri Lanka have their own elephants which signifies how valuable the contribution of elephants are to the rich culture and heritage in Sri Lanka.
● The open areas of the orphanage where they socialise.
However, due to safety reasons the mahouts or caretakers of these elephants encourage the visitors to maintain a safe distance and avoid flashers when taking photographs to avoid startling the elephants.
Occasionally, the wildlife committee of this sanctuary conducts workshops focusing on elephant care and conservation efforts helping the visitors to gain more information and interesting insights about these magnificent species. Moreover, they also provide hands-on volunteering programs that allow visitors who are interested in learning about elephants to engage in assisting and supporting their daily activities like bathing, feeding and cleaning.
The Pinnalanda road also known as the elephant bathing road which leads to the Maha Oya river in pinnawala exhibits various cafes, hotels , souvenir shops and even eco factories which offers products and services to both local and foreign visitors to enhance their experience at pinnawala. Visiting these shops can help you grab a memorable souvenir of this tour such as locally handcrafted crafted eco gifts and jewellery with elephant symbolised.
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