Pinnawala & Ramboda 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 your visit to Pinnawala, you can watch elephants being fed milk and have the opportunity to (optionally) feed an adult elephant with fruit. This is an opportunity to take interesting photos, because pieces of fruit are placed directly into the mouth of the giant mammal, placed gently 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 matter, fruits, trees, vegetables every day and it eats 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 is stone boulders.

In total, there are approximately 90 individuals of Elephas maximus maximus of various ages and sexes in the center. The center plays an important role in research on these largest land mammals on earth, in particular it contributes 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 closer look and assessing the daily rigor and actions of the staff rather than relying on the often contradictory opinions of Internet users.

From Pinnawela we will go along the picturesque A1 road leading among rice fields, stalls with baskets woven by the lowest caste in Sri Lanka, and gardens with herbs and spices.

These gardens are a place where you can see how the proverbial pepper and vanilla grow, indulge in a several-minute massage performed by adepts of the art of Ayurvedic medicine. We will also be invited to a school of Ayurvedic medicine, where we will learn how natural herbal medicines have been made in Sri Lanka for centuries and how they affect our body.

After visiting the herb and spice garden, we will continue our journey into the interior of the island. We will pass by a tower built as a monument to Captain Douzen, an engineer who designed and participated in the construction of this strategic road for the English. The next interesting place will be a tea plantation, where we will stop to see what the tea fields in Sri Lanka look like. From the tea plantation, after less than 15 minutes of driving, we will reach a tea factory, where we will be able to watch the tea production process and also taste the wonderful BOP and buy many different types of tea very cheaply.

From the gardens we will take a picturesque route to the Ramboda waterfalls. You can reach the place where the water flows into the basin at the bottom of the waterfall via a short trail. There is a small viewing platform there. A longer trail leads through the valley and river to another branch of the Ramboda Falls.

There is a path among the plantations and crops that leads to the foot of the waterfall, or if not, at least to their surroundings. Another attraction is swimming in a natural pool in another part of the waterfall. However, for active people, the real fun will be a real jungle climb up to the top of the Ramboda waterfalls. The route along the waterfall will be made more attractive by bathing places, where mainly locals gather during trips around the country, or wonderful sceneries where young couples accompanied by photographers, assistants and drones have the opportunity to take the most beautiful wedding photos.

The further up you go, the more the human presence is replaced by monkeys – macaques, living in gangs around the waterfalls. They are everywhere and it is not difficult to have close contact.

During the hike to the top, you will have to go through a small cave to reach the top, where there is a viewing platform where you can peacefully observe the beauty of nature. After completing the climb and swimming in the fresh waters of Ramboda, we will take a ride back to the hotel