{"id":1090,"date":"2017-03-28T18:06:30","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T17:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/universvoyage.com\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2025-01-29T15:15:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T14:15:31","slug":"sri-lanka-pinnawela-orphanage-elephants-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/universvoyage.com\/en\/sri-lanka-pinnawela-orphelinat-elephants-zoo\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka - Pinnawela: an elephant orphanage or a zoo?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Created in 1975 by the government to protect injured or orphaned elephants, Pinnawala is home to these superb pachyderms, who are allowed to roam free under supervision... and with interest.
Initially located in Wilpattu National Park, the orphanage is now based in the village of Pinnawala, around fifty kilometres from Kandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The centre is home to around 80 elephants, males and females, over three generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After paying an entrance fee of 2,500 rupees, we can approach these majestic animals on the edge of the 10-hectare park where they live in semi-liberty. Or watch them bathe and frolic in the nearby Maha Oya river. A very touristy spot, with its temple merchants, but well worth the diversions.
The price is quite high for the country (around \u20ac16) and, as in most places in Sri Lanka, there is a price for locals and a price for tourists. What's more, the mahouts insist on tipping you to have your photo taken near the elephants. It's like being in a specialised zoo where tourists are treated like cows to be milked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"You<\/a>
You can get very close to the elephants. At least the ones that are most used to visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's all there for the taking, whether in the park, during the bottle-feeding of the baby elephants or during the twice-daily bath, which is accessed via a street lined with souvenir stalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants are particularly fond of bathing: bathing in water, mud and dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n