Pinnawela elephant orphanage

Pinnawela elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the only country providing a safe retreat for young orphaned elephants. Pinnawela elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka is one of the two such sanctuaries in Sri-Lanka tending and caring for the domestic baby elephants and this has now become quite well known worldwide.

Pinnawela elephant Orphanage is the home for about 60 elephants, out of which many are baby elephants found, abandoned or orphaned in the wild. They are being taken care, fed and trained by the wild life authorities. The best time to visit is during the feeding times, when one will have the opportunity of seeing the baby elephants being bottle-fed.

Pinnawela elephant orphanage is located northwest of the town Kegalla, 77 Kms from capital Colombo and about 13 Km. from Kegalle Town on the Kegalle- Rambukkana Road.. It was started in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Wildlife department. These 24 acres large elephant orphanage is also a breeding place for elephants, 68 elephants were born since 1984, and it has the greatest herd of elephants in captivity in the world.

The orphanage was primarily designed to afford care and protection to the many baby elephants found in the jungle without their mothers. In most of these cases the mother had been either killed or dead. In some instances the baby had fallen into a pit and in others the mother had fallen in and died.
The origin of elephant orphanage in Sri lanka

Initially this orphanage was at the Wilpattu National Park, then shifted to the tourist complex at Bentota and then to the Dehiwala Zoo.

From the Dehiwala Zoo it was shifted in 1975 to Pinnawela. At the time it was shifted the orphanage had only five baby elephants, which formed its nucleus.

It was hoped that this centre would attract both local and foreign visitors, the income from which would help to maintain the orphanage.

In 1978 the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka was taken over by the National Zoological Gardens from the Department of Wildlife and a captive breeding program was launched in 1982. When the zoo took over there were twelve animals five of whom who were babies. In time more baby elephants were added to the original herd of five. It was observed that though older females could be added it was not possible to add older males to the herd.

1997 there were 52 animals of which 10 were babies under 3 years of age. There were five mahouts for the twelve elephants when the orphanage was taken over in 1978 and now there are twenty mahouts. This number is hardly enough to manage the increasing and growing number of elephants.

At Pinnawela an attempt was made to install, in a limited way, the conditions in the wild. Animals are allowed to roam freely during the day and a herd structure was allowed to form.

At 08.00am the babies are fed on milk and allowed to roam freely on the 12 acres large grassland.

At 10.00am each morning and at 2pm in the afternoon the animals are walked 400 meters to the river Maha Oya for a two-hour bath. Here is a fine opportunity for you to accompany the elephants to the river close-by and watch them having their daily bath.

>Muthurajawela

"Muthurajawela the Swamp of Royal Treasure"

Negombo - MuthurajawelaThe name Muthurajawela has been derived from Sinhalese language which the majority of Sri Lankans use to communicate. The meaning can be translated in to English simply as “Swamp of Royal Treasure”. Treasures of kings in olden days are believed to be buried in that area.

         Muthurajawela Marsh is situated towards the southern part of Negombo. The boundaries span from Negombo lagoon which also helps to create a costal eco system, and Kelaniya River situated at the northern tip of Colombo. Muthurajawela is in close proximity to Colombo.

         Muthurajawela Marsh is said to be the island’s largest saline peat bog. It is believed to have originated about 7000 years ago. There are some residuals which extend up to 500 years towards the history from now.

Negombo

         Muthurajawela bears staggering species of flora and fauna. Numerically 192 flora and 209 fauna, excluding 102 species of birds have been discovered. Some indigenous floras and faunas have also been found in Muthurajawela marsh. Visitors may see water birds such as herons, egrets in abundance in the lagoon and the marsh. It is also a residence for 40 different species of fish, of which 15 falls under the category of indigenous fauna. The nocturnal animal, slender Loris, which is believed to be endangered, can be seen once in a blue moon.

         Muthurajawela marsh has been declared as s sanctuary by the government in 1996 due to its vast bio diversity. Visitors may be assisted by the Muthurajawela marsh centre. The centre educates people about the importance of Muthurajawela. The staff at Muthurajawela marsh centre is available everyday except Monday; from 7.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m. Visitors may be given well trained guide. Also a boat ride will be given for visitors through the marsh and lagoon. Visitors will not only be able to travel on water, if they are interested, they can walk on the land and view the natural greenery. Early mornings or evenings are the best times to view, Muthurajawela. Late mornings and afternoons should be avoided in order to get rid of harsh sun rays.

Hakgala Botanical Garden

hakgala botanical gardenHakgala Botanical Gardens lie just 10km from Nuwara Eliya town. Hakgala is an essential part of any holiday in the hill resort of Nuwara Eliya. According to legend, it was once the pleasure garden of Ravana of the Ramayana epic, and was one of the places where the beautiful Sita was hidden by the demon king.

In the period of British rulers, Hakgala was a site for experiments with cinchona plants, which bark yielded quinine which used as a cure for malaria. The cool, temperate climate of the Hakgala area with the  temperature of 16ºC, was conducive to the introduction of temperate zone plants, both ornamental and useful. These included conifers and cedars from Australia, Bermuda and Japan, and cypresses from the Himalayas, China and as far as Persia, Mexico and California.

An English oak, introduced around 1890. Camphor, a tree which is grown in regions above 12,000m elevation is also growing there. In the Rose garden, you can experience the sights and scents of blooms in their many number of variety.  A special attraction here is the variety of mountain orchids, many of them endemic to Sri Lanka in the Orchid house. Sri Lanka's ferns are well represented in Fernery.

The low-country lotus and water lily also float in ponds at Hakgala. The highlands’ refreshing zephyr memorizes temperate climates tourists about  their homeland.