no picture on Wikidata:  | ||
| Pinnawala | ||
| province | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pinnawala has no parent region. | ||
| Residents | unknown | |
| no value for residents on Wikidata: | ||
| height | unknown | |
| no value for height on Wikidata: | ||
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
| ||
Pinnawala, also Pinnawela, is a small town in the province Sabaragamuwa,
background
The place Pinnawala is on Ma Oya River in Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa Province. It is primarily of interest to tourists because of that Elephant Orphanage (Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage). It opened in 1975 and has become one of the island's most popular destinations.
getting there
Dynamic cards
By train
The place is about 4 km north of Pinnawala Rambukkana on the railway line between Colombo and Kandy. From there you can reach Pinnawala by bus or tuk-tuk.
By bus
- Bus between Rambukkana / Kegalle Junction and Kegalle, 20 LKR from Pinnawala to Kegalle.
In the street
- Of Kandy drive west on the A1 to Kegalle, which is about 10 km south of Pinnawala. Total distance approx. 40 km.
- Of Colombo one drives on the A1 east to Kegalle and on to Pinnawala, distance approx. 105 km.
mobility
The place is manageably small and can be explored on foot, there are also enough tuk-tuks available.
Tourist Attractions
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
1 Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage In 1975 the Department of Wildlife Conservation founded to care for orphaned or injured animals. The facility is now under the care of Department of National Zoological Gardens, and it is financed by the entrance fees of the quite large number of tourists. For adults it is 2,500 LKR (approx. 15 EUR), visitors from the SAARC countries pay 700 LKR, children each pay half. For video recordings, another 1,500 LKR can be charged, holding a milk bottle while feeding costs 250 LKR.
Around 90 animals live in the orphanage, they have a 9 hectare enclosure on the east side of the little-traveled road between Pinnawala and Rambukkana. The terrain is mostly grassland, only a few parts are forested. As a result, the feed for the animals has to be brought in, an elephant eats around 200 kg per day. Many of the animals were victims of the conflict between humans and animals, they had destroyed fields or houses of the farmers and were then shot at. Some had suffered injuries from the landmines that were released during the civil war, and some of the traumatized animals had to be chained up. Some of the young were born in Pinnawala, some of them are descendants of working elephants and have been separated from the mother animals. Incidentally, none of the animals will be released into the wild, some have been given away as work animals.
A special attraction for visitors is the feeding of the baby elephants with milk daily at 9:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 5 p.m., it takes place in roofed round huts. Each of these babies empties a large bottle of milk several times in a matter of seconds.
The second attraction is bathing the animals. It takes place once from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and again from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Ma Oya-But the river for bathing lies west of the little-traveled main road. As a result, the animals are allowed to cross this street twice a day, accompanied by their mahmuts, past souvenir shops.
For bathing in Ma Oya the herd goes into the shallow water at the Hotel Pinnalanda, the animals can be easily observed from the viewing terrace of his restaurant.
Criticism of this "orphanage" should not be concealed. So it is easy to get the impression that some mahmuts are more concerned with quickly earning additional money than with the welfare of the animals. And it is difficult for an outsider to judge whether the chaining of the animals is justified in each individual case.
Millenium Elephant Foundation
The 2 Millenium Elephant Foundation is a bit outside of Pinnawala and at first glance has a slightly less commercial orientation
activities
shop
- Paper made from elephant dung. Not to everyone's taste, but not disreputable either. Elephant dung still contains so much fiber and cellulose that it can be used to make paper. It is available in various designs in the souvenir shops. Among other things, you can use it to create greeting cards with a special touch.
kitchen
- Pinnalanda restaurant. Tel.: 94352265297.
nightlife
accommodation
- 2 Hotel Elephant Park. Tel.: 94352266171.
health
Practical advice
Anyone who disagrees with the way the elephant orphanage is done should compare it to that Udawale Elephant Transit Home in Udawale National Park
trips
literature
Web links
- Born Free critical report on the subject of the elephant orphanage
- Lucky Sama
