Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Sri Lanka

This elephant  Orphanage can be reached by travelling 7 kms on the Rambukkana road taking  the turn at karandupana junction beyond kegalle town on the Colombo -Kandy highway. Pinnawala elephant  Orphanage  which commenced  in 1974 is the  first such Orphanage  in srilanka. Bue to the arrival  of tourists  local  and foreign  in large numbers . This area has now turned out to be a tourist  destination. The Orphanage provides  protection  to elephant  rendered  Orphans  in various  jungles  and those who had sustained injuries  in the hands  of poachers.

Over 60 Elephants

At present  the Orphanage accommodates over 60 elephants. Of them rajah blind in one eye due to an injury caused  by a coach to extract his tusk is very prominent . These elephants are taken to the close by Maha Oya for bathing.It is a touching scene  to see rajah being assisted  by another young elephant  in his daily routine walk  from the Orphanage to the maha oya for his bath. The scene  of elephants bathing is beautiful to observe. More than  twenty  baby elephants have been born in the Orphanage. It is a wonderful scene to observe grandmother  on the newborn elephants feeding and finding the babies.  Several  hotels and guest houses  at the location provide amenities to tourists  and it is a very pleasant experience to spend a weekend close to the orphanage.