Discovering Sri Lanka: Kandy to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage by train.
It was time to continue our Sri Lanka adventure, to leave Kandy and head out to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage by train.
However, before leaving Sri Lanka’s beautiful lakeside city we had the chance to see a wedding!
Colonial-style Hotel Suisse in Kandy was preparing for a traditional Sri Lankan wedding. The grand ballroom had been elaborately decorated the previous evening for the banquet and many guests had stayed overnight.
We watched while a professional photographer took portraits of the bride and groom attired in magnificent wedding finery, and the extended family dressed in beautiful traditional costume – the ladies in the most gorgeous, colourful saris.
I spoke to some of the family before taking some quick photos, and the happy couple came over to chat to us and explained Kandy is a top wedding destination in Sri Lanka.
Train from Kandy to Rambukkan
We caught a morning train from Kandy station to Rambukkana, some 90 minutes away. Book a ticket in advance to secure a seat (Colombo direction). The opposite way will take you on a trip to Ella.
This was a fascinating experience and a chance to see the picturesque rural landscape rolling by. The train picked up and dropped off passengers at wayside stops, and food sellers came aboard offering fruit and local pastries.
I sat beside two young teenagers on a bench seat, my husband Juan and the guide across the aisle facing their mothers. The girls were really polite and, on seeing my camera, shyly insisted I had the window seat to get better shots.
They soon started chatting, telling me they were cousins and how they longed to visit a brother who was studying in Britain. I got the idea they envisioned a gentile idyllic land of past centuries, far removed from modern-day city life in England.
At Rambukkana we waved goodbye to our new friends, and hailed a tuk tuk to the elephant sanctuary.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Originally founded some forty years ago to take calves abandoned in the jungle, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage has become a major tourist attraction, particularly with domestic tourists – it was high on the wish list of every Sri Lankan we spoke to on our travels round the country!
The sanctuary also breeds Sri Lankan elephants, and takes in rescued animals such as the huge blind tusker elephant which has a separate stall. Currently, there are around 100 elephants in the herd at Pinnawela.
It was raining lightly and so amazing to see them up close, playing in the mud like big kiddies, out on the plain and splashing in the lake. The star attraction is feeding time for the baby elephants who really get excited as the time approaches – for a price, visitors can feed calves a large bottle of milk which they eagerly gulp.
Apart from Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage there are elephant conservation volunteering projects in Sri Lanka where you can personally help out.
Pinnawala Elephants River Bathing
Twice a day the mahouts steer the elephants through the village to the Maha Oya River. We walked down the narrow street which is lined with craft shops and souvenirs, to wait beside the riverbank. You can hear the elephants thundering along before they appear around the corner and run gleefully into the water!
Quite a crowd gathers to see them bathe and play…orange robed Buddhist monks, children on school outings, brightly dressed Sri Lankans on vacation, tourists from across the world, and local people alike. Everyone loves the elephants.
We watched on in fascination, sitting on the terrace of a riverside restaurant serving lunch. Some of the herd played by the water’s edge, others swam over to islets, and some reached the far bank to nibble at fresh trees, while a few tried to surreptitiously leg it away to freedom.
Two hours later the keepers rounded up the entire herd and escorted them back to the elephant orphanage.
Pinnawela to Negombo
Our driver picked us up in Pinnawela for the next stage of our journey, by car to Negombo on the coast almost two hours away.
The route took us through several villages and past agricultural land, so it was interesting to see rural Sri Lanka and glimpse the way of life.
The guide explained that local schools had just broken up for the term, which was why the white uniformed school kids were throwing violet ‘ink’ bombs at each other on their way home! In many places, folk had stalls on the verge of the main road to sell local vegetables and fruit.
We reached the beachfront hotel in Negombo late afternoon, said our goodbyes to the excellent driver and guide who had accompanied us through the country since we set foot in the airport, and looked forward to the second part of our holiday in this fishing village by the Indian Ocean… dare I say this without sounding ungrateful, but we were relieved to be on our own, to have freedom to wander around at our own pace and go on a whim – I knew how those elephants felt.
Related Posts on Sri Lanka
Follow our travels through Sri Lanka to discover the wonders of this beautiful country.
- Sri Lanka the Emerald Isle – Colombo City Tour
- Visiting Dambulla, Sigiriya & Polonnaruwa
- Spice Gardens & Batik in Matale / Sacred Temple Kandy
- Kandy: Peradeniya Botanical Gardens / Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
- Kandy: Giragama tea plantation / Embekke, Lankathilake & Gadaladeniya temples
- Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
- Negombo Beach and Catamarans
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