Day 5 - Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (nr Kegalle) & Kandyan dancing

I got up early as the plan was to catch a bus from Kandy (Bus Shed Station) to Udamulla and then another bus for the short trip to Rambukkana so as to get off at Pinnawala. However when I arrived at the bus station I met a very nice local man who suggested I should catch the bus heading for Negombo and jump off at Kegalle. This seemed a great idea & so I soon boarded a bus heading for Negombo which took about an hour to arrive at Kegalle (47 LKR). After jumping off the bus I just needed to backtrack for about 50 yards before seeing a sign 'Pinnawala 6km' where another bus was waiting. I jumped on board (it was full of school children) and paid 15 LKR. It was only about a 20 minute ride to Pinnawala, and the bus dropped me right outside the main entrance to the orphanage.

The fee was 2000 LKR to enter the orphanage. It wasn’t long before I saw at least 40 elephants big & small including Raja enclosed under his shelter who is the oldest at 65 and is sadly blind. One of the star attractions (other than the baby elephants) is Sama, who has only 3 legs as he tragically stood on a land mine when he was young during the war.

The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found in the jungle. There are approximately 80 elephants at the orphanage. The elephants are taken to the river twice daily for a bath, and all the babies under three years of age are still bottle fed by the mahouts and volunteers. 




Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - Sama and his friends
http://www.luckysama.de/projectluckysama.html

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage


Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage


At just after 9am, a big group of us (there seemed to be about 40 other tourists, most I had ever seen since leaving England!) headed towards a large shelter, where some elephants (and their babies) were getting hosed down. It was particular enchanting watching them rock to and fro and swinging their trunks in rhythm together, including the baby elephants!

At 9:15am they then announced it was feeding time and the ones that had bought a ticket (250LKR), which included myself should form an orderly queue. There was a elephant handler with one of the younger elephants holding a giant baby feeding bottle and we all took turns to bottle feed the young elephant. It was all over in a few seconds as they can drink one bottle in a few gulps!

It was here I met an Austrian girl called Doris who was travelling alone and so we were able to take each others pictures & videos whilst feeding the elephant! After this we just followed the crowd out of the orphanage and across the main road and along the narrow street past all the cafes and handicraft shops. We were both thinking, 'Surely they can’t be leading the animals down this narrow street'? But it wasn’t too long before we spotted the river at the end of the street and so we knew it was indeed going to be here that the elephants would shortly be coming along for their twice daily drink.




Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage


At just after 10am, we saw all the elephants being led down towards the river by the mahouts. It was an amazing site, and really sad to see Sama walking very slowly towards the river’s edge. We spent about an hour watching the elephants enjoy themselves in the water. It was a shame there were touts around offering to read your palm & selling a few bananas for 200 LKR to feed the elephants!


Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - By the river


Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - By the River


Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - By the River


Doris & I then decided to head back up the narrow street to find a cafe so we could watch the herd come back from the river at 12 noon. We found one easy and ordered some lunch while we waited for the elephants to come past. At exactly 12 noon, we could see them all coming our way and so set our cameras ready. They did look a bit clumsy as some were a bit squashed together and it was upsetting to see one fall over and somehow smash one of the shop windows! Luckily the elephant just got up & carried on walking.



Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage - Heading back...


We later visited the shop directly opposite the orphanage which sells paper and handicrafts made from recycled elephant dung. We were shown around the back of the shop & given a demonstration on how it is all done which was fascinating.

Doris & I then decided to head back to Kegalle on foot, but it wasn’t too long before we spotted a passing bus & so jumped on board (15 LKR each). When we reached Kegalle we soon spotted another bus coming our way, and so flagged it down & confirmed it was going to Kandy. As soon as we boarded we realised it was an air-conditioned bus, which was nice although you do have to pay a few extra rupees for the pleasure! The fare was 100 LKR back to Kandy (double what I'd paid earlier).

We arrived back in Kandy in good time, which was great as Doris & I had planed to see some Kandyan dancing later in the afternoon at 5:30pm. We visited the Muslim Hotel/Restaurant and had 'Kottu Rotti' which is a Rotti (doughy pancake with a dollop of curried meat or vegetables placed in the middle and the whole thing folded over) that is chopped up and stirred fried, see below!



Kottu Rotti!


We later made our way to the Kandyan Art Association Hall to purchase our tickets (500 LKR). We had time to look around the handicraft shops before the show. The show was really entertaining although some of the performers did look a little lost! The Mask dance and Raban dance were the best viewing.



Kandyan dancing


Kandyan dancing - Raban Dance

According to the legend, the origins of the dance lie in an exorcism ritual known as the Kohomba Kankariya, which was originally performed by Indian shamans who came to the island. The Indian shamans came to the island upon the request of a king who was suffering from a mysterious illness, this being a recurring dream & after the dancing the king’s illness went away.

Doris & I finished off the evening at the pub (this being a bar called 'The Pub'!) & sampled the local drink of 'Arrack' which is toddy that is tapped from the flower of the coconut which is non alcoholic but allowed to ferment. It was a great bar with a large projector screen that  played 60s, 70s and 80s music videos!

Doris and I said our goodbyes as she was heading east in the morning and I was heading north to Dambulla.



2 comments:

  1. Hey this really good. I just want to know what time you left Kandy to reach pinnawela before the feeding.

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  2. Just reading through my first paragraph again... I reckon about 6:30am.(There may well be earlier buses to Negombo.) My advice, just be at the station for 6:00am so as not to worry.(Assuming you are ok with early mornings!)

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