V
O
Y
A
G
E
U
R
62
By-W.K.W.Perera innewala Elephant Orphanage is one of Sri Lanka's most popular tourist attractions. It is located at the village Pinnawala in the district of Kegalla at a distant of 90km from Colombo. Pinnawala 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, 2kms away from the village of Pinnawala. The primary purpose of the orphanage has been to provide a lifeline to the orphaned baby elephants and adult elephants lost in the wilderness. The orphanage has a population of about 75 elephants, making it the world's largest
P
collection of captive elephants. The elephants here range from newborn calves to elderly matriarchs and include orphaned and abandoned elephants, as well as those injured in the wild. The centre opens at 8.30am and closes at 6pm daily. Bottle feeding is at 9.15am, 1.15pm & 5pm and bathing time at the river is at 10am and 2pm. During the bathing hours, the animals are walked 400 meters to the river Maha Oya. The visitors seated on the steep rocky banks of the river, are afforded the opportunity to enjoy the sight of the herd of elephants bathing and playing at the river. The bathing hours are followed up with the feeding hour at the main center of the orphanage. Baby elephants are bottle fed. Selected visitors will have a chance of bottle feeding milk to the baby elephants.