The Pinnewela Elephant Orphanage is situated northwest of the town of Kegalle, halfway between the present capital Colombo and the ancient royal residence Kandy in the hills of central Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka wildlife department in a 25-acre (100,000 m2) coconut property near the Maha Oya river. The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found in the jungle. As of 2009, there are about 84 elephants. While most of the elephants are healthy, one is blind and one, named Sama, has lost her front right leg due to a landmine.

When you arrive to the main entrance of the pinnawla orphanage you will notice a gigantic display of the hotel advertisement banner

Getting there

Hotel elephant bay is situated in the Sabaragamuwa province of Sri Lanka, which is about 87km away from Colombo. To reach Pinnawala you have to turn from the 82nd kilometer post (karadupana junction) of the Colombo–Kandy main road and come through Rambukkana road. If you travel by train the nearest railway station to reach Pinnawala is Rambukkana (hotel is 1km from the station)