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We had booked an organised tour of Sri Lanka. After an overnight stay in Mount Lavinia, we met our group and guide and made our way to the first stop on our Sri Lankan road trip – Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Situated approximately 130 miles or around 4 and a half hours drive from Mount Lavinia.
Our visit to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Sri Lanka
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage was established in 1975 by the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation. Here they state that they provide care and sanctuary to orphaned baby elephants. It was lovely to see them take their daily bath in the river. And we got to watch all the elephants playing and splashing around as we ate our lunch from the restaurant overlooking the river below.
Once bath time was over, the elephants were led out of the river by the mahouts to their nearby forest where they could graze. Although we were behind barriers while the elephants walked past us, I was amazed at how close they were.
And once lunch time was over, our tour group was led out of the restaurant by our guide to see the elephants in the nearby forest.
The other side to the orphanage consisted of some open green space surrounded by trees. We could see elephants in the distance but we didn’t get too close to them. It was enjoyable to see them out in the open but I will admit that the heat was starting to make me flag!
The thing I didn’t like about the orphanage was that there were two baby elephants chained at the ankle within a large pen. This was so tourists could pay to bottle feed them. One of the baby elephants became distressed and managed to run underneath the bars. Obviously trying to get away from the gawping crowds. It was upsetting to see and I honestly hope Pinnawala stop doing this.
Is Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage worth visiting?
I cannot write this post without mentioning the controversies surrounding Pinnawala. Since my visit, the orphanage has been removed from many tour operator’s itineraries due to questionable animal welfare standards. In a report by the Born Free Foundation they discovered that elephants were being bred here for tourism, making it more of a zoo than an orphanage. There were also reports of elephants being chained at the ankles causing wounds to their legs.
You can read more about animal welfare reports at Pinnawala on the Responsible Travel website.
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