PINNAWALA

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When leaving for a one day tour of Pinnawala about 6.00 in the morning  we arrive at the town called Dankotuwa after passing Maoya in Kochchikade. It is in and around Dankouwa that the tile and brick industry is carried out in a large scale. Dankotuwa Porcelain Factory occupies  a prominent place for its high quality porcelain products which are in great  demand. Bricks and tiles manufactured in 2013-05-05thushanc34afb4db60bc9cDankotuwa are bought by people arriving at Dankotuwa from all corners of Sri Lanka. While going through Makandura after passing Dankotuwa you will see the lovely rice fields and thereafter at Giriulla there are massive plantations of pineapple where you may take photographs and have a taste of the delicious fresh pineapples straight from the plantations or taste beli (slime apple), wood- apple, mango, ripe jak, banana or cadju. We continue our journey through rice fields and rubber estates until we reach Pinnawala where the largest elephant orphanage in the island is located. The site of the orphanage is  calm and quiet with the river slowly flowing by on the  left-hand  side of the orphanage. This orphanage was established in year 1975 by the government of Sri Lanka. The major task carried out here is providing projection and shelter to injured and lost elephants and rareing orphan elephant calves that have lots their parents. These babies are fed, bathed and rared with love an care and when the time comes,  they are released into the jungle to live on their own in their natural surroundings. The baby elephants are fed with milk three times a day, at 9.15 a.m., 1.15 noon and at 5.15 p.m.

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After the breakfast feed they are taken to the  river for bathing. Bathing is done from 10.00 a.m.  to 12.00 noon and after the lunch feed  they go back to the river again about 2.00 p.m. for bathing. Elephants naturally love bathing and spend long hours in the water. There are other places around Pinnawala where elephants are kept and there you may go on an elephant ride or to bathe it too.

 

From Pinnawala we shall proceed to Kandy, while on the way you will see the medicinal herb gardens used for ayurvedic treatment in indigenous treatment. We pass Kegalle town and arrive at image-slider-1Kadugannawa where you may visit the Railway museum opposite the railway station. From then on we shall pass River Mahaweli, the longest river in the country, and visit Peradeniya Botanical Gardens the largest in Sri Lanka and one of the best in Asia, where you have to spend about two hours to make a tour of the gardens. Huge trees of rare varieties, ages old together with plants, bushes and flowers can be viewed. The “Orchid House’ is a fantastic sight containing well-maintained orchids that are unique to this garden.  By the time we enter the city of Kandy it will be time for lunch. After lunch you may visit the historic ‘Temple of Tooth’ which was then the royal palace of the powerful King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. The tank constructed opposite this location really adds colour to the city. A variety of fish, tortoise, water birds and monitor lizards can be seen in the tank. The city of Kandy, 130 km. away from Negombo can be toured in one day.