Pinnawala & Yapahuwa Day Excursion

Departure from the hotel early in the morning. The route to Pinnawala will be covered partly by the highway and partly by the country road. On the way we will see lowland plantations of tea, rubber, coconuts, rice and pineapples. In the vicinity of Nittambuwa you can stop at one of the stalls offering the tastiest fruits on the island in season.

The first attraction of the program will be a visit to Pinnawala, a world-famous elephant orphanage where over 90 animals are currently being raised. Some of them have reached the mature age of 50 for an elephant. Elephants cannot be released into nature reserves on the island, because at best they would die of starvation and at worst they could sow fear among local residents, because elephants accustomed to the presence of humans will always cling to them.

During a visit to Pinnawala, you can watch elephants being fed milk, and you can also (optionally) feed an adult elephant with fruit. This is an opportunity to take interesting photos, as the giant mammal is given pieces of fruit directly into its mouth, gently placing them on its pink tongue. The mammal is clearly delighted with this system of obtaining food, because in natural conditions it has to travel many kilometers every day in search of pastures, because one individual can eat about 200 kg of green mass, fruits, trees, vegetables every day, and it is engaged in eating for 80% of its life.

During the visit we will also see the elephants go to the watering place, the nearby stream Ma oya. There the elephants take their daily bath, as well as the young ones bathing and having fun getting into endless and funny arguments and trumpet fights, and wrestling.

The centre also has a free range for elephants, where the only border between man and the giants are stone boulders.

In total, there are about 90 individuals of different ages and sexes living in the center. The center plays an important role in research on these largest land mammals on Earth, in particular contributing to reproduction, which later results in an increase in the number of individuals living in Sri Lanka. It is the largest center of this type on Earth. It is worth taking a look and assessing the daily rigor and actions of the staff yourself, rather than relying on the often contradictory opinions of Internet users.

After visiting Pinnawala, we will go to the mysterious kingdom of Yapahuwa. Established in the 13th century AD, the kingdom with a fortress on the top of a 90-meter-high rock monolith is compared by historians to Sigiria, but it must be admitted that it is inferior to the palace of King Kassapa in scale.

However, before conquering the fortress, we will eat in a luxurious hotel whose owner has created a triple paradise. Well, when the German found Sri Lanka, he found his paradise. While traveling around the island, he found Yapahuwa, which he called a paradise within a paradise and decided to build a paradise resort right in the middle. It is worth watching the achievements of this investor.

You can reach the top of the fortress via a very steep staircase. Along the way there is a sanctuary of the Buddha’s Tooth Relic, while the top, from which there are breath-taking views, is reached via a series of smaller or larger stone staircases. Along the way, we pass many caves, which once served as shelter for Buddhist monks and now allow couples craving intimacy to experience a moment of intimacy .

On one of the terraces there is a small Buddhist temple, the chapel of which is usually locked, but with a bit of luck you can find a monk who will open the gate with an incredibly large key. Of note are the richly carved balustrades with lions in the Chinese style, which cannot be found in other parts of the country. On the top of the mountain and along the way there are many platforms from which you can admire the surroundings in many directions as well as the mountain massif – Kacza Skała.

After exploring Yapahuwa, it’s time to return to the hotel. End of the tour.