Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km northwest of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Visitors can observe the bathing elephants from the river bank as the herd interact socially, bathing and playing. The orphanage is open to the public daily, and all admission fees are used to look after the elephants. Visitors can not only view the care, feeding, bathing and daily routine of the elephants but also enjoy the wonderful experience of bottle feeding a baby elephant at the orphanage. An elephant experience at Pinnawala is a must while you enjoy a holiday in a Kandy Bungalow such as Mountbatten Bungalow which belongs to Theme Resorts & Spas. It is an ideal base from which to head off on your excursions to such sites as Pinnawala.
The Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation. It was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. The orphanage was initially located at the Wilpattu National Park and then shifted to Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo. From the Zoo it was shifted to Pinnawala village on a 25 acre coconut plantation adjacent to the Maha Oya River. There are more than 48 mahouts (handlers) to take care of the elephants. The female and young elephants in Pinnawala freely roam within an area of a few acres during the day time. They are herded twice a day to drink and be bathed in the Maha Oya river. At night, the females are individually chained in stalls. Adult males are made to do work such as transporting feed.
The main site also has some restaurants, refreshment stands, and management buildings including sleeping sheds and veterinary facilities and most of them are placed beside the road leading to the Maha Oya River through which these giants of Pinnawala are herded couple of times a day.
Uditha Dharmawardhane is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Roland Lefevre. He specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe.
