Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage

The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is nestled amidst the mountains of Kegalle, along the road towards Kandy, 50 miles / 85 kilometres from the capital city of Colombo. A herd of approximately 60 elephants ranging from week-old babies to full grown adults, roam around freely across 25 acres of trees and foliage. The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage now not only has the largest captive herd of elephants in the entire world but it also has become the most successful elephant breeding centre as well.

Established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife on the banks of Maha Oya River at Rambukkana, this orphanage is now one of Sri Lanka's most popular tourist attractions. The Wilpattu National Park in the north western region of Sri Lanka was its earliest home and since then the orphanage has been shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota in the southern coastline of Sri Lanka and then to the Dehiwala Zoo and from there to its current vicinity in Pinnawela.

The orphanage consisted of only five baby elephants at the time it was moved to Pinnawela. The idea behind promoting it as a local attraction was to earn sufficient funds to maintain the orphanage. Today, out of only a handful of elephant orphanages existing around the world, The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is currently one of the largest and well-known orphanages throughout the world.

A lot of effort goes in to providing the elephants with almost a jungle-like atmosphere, creating an environment that is almost identical to their natural habitat. The animals are given the freedom of roaming about as they please allowing them the liberty of forming herds and maintaining their natural way of life. Each morning at 8:00 am the baby elephants are fed on milk and left to roam about a 12-acre pasture, on their own. Every day at 10:00 am in the morning and 2:00 pm in the afternoon, all the animals are walked 400 metres to the Maha Oya River for a two-hour bath. During 4:30 pm and 6:00 pm in the evenings, the elephants are taken to their respective shelters and tethered for the night.

Over the years The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage has accomplished a great deal. Apart from feeding, nursing and providing refuge to young elephants that have either lost or deserted by their mothers, the sanctuary recently commenced a breeding programme as well. All of this activity makes The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is a one-of-a-kind attraction ideal for photography, research and for all the people who can enjoy the simple pleasures of life; such as watching an animal roam in the wilderness without fearing for its life.