Pinnawala

About Pinnawala

Established in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage rescues and rehabilitates orphaned, injured and abandoned Sri Lankan elephants. Today it cares for around 90 elephants — the world's largest captive herd — including calves born through its pioneering breeding programme. Time your visit around bottle-feeding sessions or the daily river bath in the Ma Oya, when the whole herd ambles down to the water.

Top experiences

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  Ma Oya river bath

  Watch the entire herd amble down to bathe in the Ma Oya river, twice daily.

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  Baby elephant bottle feeding

  See orphaned calves fed milk from giant bottles at 9:15 am, 1:15 pm and 5 pm daily.

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  Conservation breeding programme

  The world's most successful captive elephant breeding programme — 76+ births to date.

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  Semi-natural herd observation

  Watch a full family herd interact in an open riverside enclosure — rare in captive settings.

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  Elephant-dung paper & village crafts

  Local workshops turn elephant dung into eco-friendly paper — a quirky, sustainable souvenir.

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  Scenic hill-country train ride

  The famed Kandy–Ella line through tea estates and cloud forest.

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  Tea factory tour & tasting

  Walk a working factory and taste single-estate Ceylon teas.

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  Nine Arch Bridge & Little Adam's Peak hike

  Iconic viaduct plus an easy summit hike near Ella.

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  Horton Plains & World's End trek

  Early-morning cloud-forest trek to a sheer 800 m escarpment.

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  Nine Arch Bridge

  Colonial-era railway viaduct arching over jungle in Ella.

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  Ravana Falls

  25 m roadside cascade steeped in Ramayana legend.

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  Lipton's Seat

  The panoramic viewpoint where Sir Thomas Lipton surveyed his estates.

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  Horton Plains National Park

  Cloud-forest plateau, montane grassland and the World's End cliff.