Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km northwest of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala is notable for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to many of the orphaned un weaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. There are many beautiful Hotels in Kandy, and the Earls Regent Kandy stands out from the rest of the hotels, because they are traditional and unique. This Hotel Kandy provides a serenity and seclusion for those who want to relax in this culturally rich town.
At the beginning of orphanage there were only five orphan baby elephants those who brought from different places of the island. From the inceptions to date, Neela, Wijaya, Kadira, Mathali and Kumari are some of babies that were brought to the facility still living in the orphanage. Since then orphan elephants brought to the orphanage from different parts of the island and brought up at the orphanage. They were fed with milk as well as array of fodder. Visitors from all over the world come to see these magnificent animals. At times, there are also some small babies who have been born into the herd. The daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage to take the herd down to the river to bathe the elephants. It’s amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river, just a few feet in front of you. There are photo opportunities, and it is a rare treat to get so close to these magnificent animals. Children would really enjoy seeing these animals take a bath, play with water and each other and being fed.
Shehera Fioni is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Catalina Forbes. Her content is based on many thrilling escapades offered to travellers across the world. Google+