From Kandy City we went on a day trip with tuk-tuk to the Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka. Along the way to the Orphanage, there were numerous spice gardens and lots of handicraft shops selling leather goods and souvenirs.
The orphanage is government run and was initially created to protect abandoned or orphaned elephants. It was set up in 1975 to rescue four orphaned baby elephants when they could no longer be looked after at Dehiwala (Colombo south) Zoo.
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Today it has become the home to the largest captive group of elephants in the world and is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular attractions, both among tourists and locals.
Inside the Orphanage there are about 80 elephants of all ages and sizes, walking around a fairly large territory.
For some extra rupees you can feed the elephants fruits, like bananas and pineapples.
The elephants are controlled by their mahouts (keepers), who feed them and watch out so they don`t endanger anyone. They do however walk freely around the area and among the visitors most of the time.
The orphanage also houses baby elephants, which are really cute! Apparently, it is possible for visitors to bottle-feed a baby elephant if you paid extra. Everything cost extra!
What To Expect
The orphanage part of the park was a bit awkward and touristy, and not as nice as witnessing a wild elephant in the jungle like we did in Yala National Park.
But still, it`s safe to say that nowhere else in Sri Lanka are you likely to see that many elephants so close up.
We got to the orphanage around 9 o`clock in the morning, so we would be able to participate in the elephant bathing.
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