I Won't Forget The Elephants!

Reaching Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage

Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage is reached by A1 Colombo-Kandy main road. A turn off at the 82 km post at Kegalle leads to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage. The closest Railway station is at Rambukkana 2km away from the village of Pinnawala.

Beginning of Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage

In the very beginning, in 1972, the orphanage was located at the Wilpattu National Park. Subsequently the orphanage was shifted to the National Holiday Resort at Bentota Beach in the south-western coastal belt and then to the Dehiwala Zoo, 11km south of Colombo. In the year 1975, Department of Wildlife of Sri Lanka set up its present home: Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawala, Kegalle. Since then it never turned back on an orphaned elephant: it welcomed all and expanded from 4 orphaned Elephants to a gang of no less than 109.

The purpose of Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage

The primary purpose of the orphanage has been to provide a lifeline to the orphaned baby elephants and adult elephants lost in the wilderness. In most of the occasions the mother of the orphaned baby elephants had been killed; and then there have been accidents of baby elephants falling into pits and losing out to the herd; and there were instances the mother elephant had fallen into a pit and died leaving the baby elephant lost in the jungle. There are instances of adult elephants being killed by farmers to protect their paddy fields and crops resulting in baby elephants orphaned.

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was launched to provide the best possible opportunity to the sad victims of such situations. The orphanage is fully geared to provide an environment of happy and healthy life to the beasts

We left the hotel at 5am this morning and arrived back about 9pm having spent about 10 hours in a taxi travelling something like 300 miles.

I always though the Italians were the worlds worst drivers but I now know it's definitely Sri Lankans. There are absolutely mad!!!!!

The main visit of the day was Pinnawala (Pinnawela) Elephant Orphanage. Set up in 1975 at it's present home. Since then it never turned back on an orphaned elephant: it welcomed all and expanded from 4 orphaned Elephants to a gang of no less than 109.

The primary purpose of the orphanage has been to provide a lifeline to the orphaned baby elephants and adult elephants lost in the wilderness. In most of the occasions the mother of the orphaned baby elephants had been killed; and then there have been accidents of baby elephants falling into pits and losing out to the herd; and there were instances the mother elephant had fallen into a pit and died leaving the baby elephant lost in the jungle. There are instances of adult elephants being killed by farmers to protect their paddy fields and crops resulting in baby elephants orphaned.

At bathing time the elephants are walked through the main street of the village to the river where they spend a couple of hours.

My blip foto shows some of them bathing.

We followed this by a trip to Candy Town and a visit to the Budhist temple before the 5 hour drive back. A long day.

I won't be hiring a car in Sri Lanka!