Our next stop after Adam’s Peak is Kandy, a pretty bustling colonial town centered around a large lovely lake.
From there, we make a day trip out to one of the most popular tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. Pinnewala started out many years ago as a mission to rescue 5 orphaned baby elephants during the war and has, since then, blossomed into a group of over 80 elephants making it the largest group of captive elephants in the world. Among its many residents is Sami, a 3 legged elephant who, heartbreakingly, lost his leg due to a bomb from a land mine.
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| Sami the 3 legged elephant, a mother and baby |
We take a local bus for an hour drive out to Pinnewala and spend an afternoon watching the elephants eat and bathe. Of particular interest, are the many adorable baby elephants, some of them who are newborns and only barely come up to our thighs. Some of them greedily drink milk from their mothers while others drink out of giant baby bottles handheld by people.
But the highlight comes in the afternoon, when all 80 elephants are led down a small road, past shops and restaurants, where they eventually come to a giant lake to wash and bathe. Vic and I have drinks at a terraced restaurant directly on the lake, as we watch in utter delight as adult elephants shower themselves with water and baby elephants turn somersaults while snorkelling with their snouts up from under the water.  |
| Here they come! |
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| Happy Bathers! |
