Get close to the elephants at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Halfway between the commercial capital Colombo and the laidback UNESCO-protected town Kandy lies Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Department. The 25 acre coconut plantation adjacent to the Maha Oya River, just as the name suggests, is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants, situated northwest of Kegalle town, in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It was originally founded to care and protect the many orphaned and injured wild elephants wandering in the forests of Sri Lanka. The main attraction for visitors to the park is clearly to observe the care and daily routine of the elephants, such as bottle feeding of elephant calves, feeding other elephants in their stalls, and bathing in the Ma Oya River.