One of the best places to see large numbers of elephants in a controlled environment, the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage lies half an hour off the main Colombo–Kandy road from Kegalle. The 25-acre complex was established to care for orphaned and injured young elephants but now includes a captive breeding programme, which has seen its population rise to over eighty of these majestic beasts.

The best time to visit the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is at feeding and bathing times, which happens twice a day at 9 AM and 1 PM. Feeding commences with the youngest being led to stalls, where they are bottle-fed by caring handlers. The older and larger elephants require large quantities of green fodder, and mahouts use selected elephants to help in the mammoth task of carrying palm fronds and green branches to dispense it to the herd.

Following the feeding, the herd is taken in a procession to the river nearby by an army of mahouts for their daily soak. Here the babies gambol in the shallows while the larger animals of the herd venture out towards the middle of the river and the far bank under the watchful eye of the mahouts. The older elephants also get some tender loving care with carers giving them a good scrubbing to ensure their hides remain healthy and parasite free.

The drive time from Colombo to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is approximately 2.5 hours. From Kandy, the drive time to the orphanage is 1.5 hours.

Daily schedule and times at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

8:30 AM Open to Public

9:15 AM Bottle feeding of baby elephants

10:00 AM Herd leaving for the river

12:00Noon Return from the river

1:15 PM Bottle feeding of baby elephants

2:00 PM Herd leaving to the river

4:00 PM Return from the river

5:00 PM Bottle feeding of baby elephants

5:30 PM Ticket counters close

6:00 PM Close to public

Written by Jonathan Roelofsz for Travel Lanka Compass