Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
A breeding and care centre for Asian elephants near Kegalle, home to the largest captive herd in the world: 71 animals across three generations in 2023. Each day the herd is walked down to the river to bathe.
- Where
- Pinnawala, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 7.3006, 80.3883
Get the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Sabaragamuwa volume with your photos and a note.
Near Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Lankatilaka Vihara 21 km
A Buddhist temple with Hindu shrines built into it, set on a rock in Udunuwara a few kilometres from Gadaladeniya. It is considered the finest building of the Gampola era, and its tall white image house still rises over the surrounding paddy fields.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya 23 km
Botanic gardens about 5.5 km west of Kandy, by the Mahaweli River, holding more than 4000 species of plants. They are best known for their orchid house, and also grow spices, medicinal plants and long avenues of palms, with the National Herbarium attached.
Ceylon Tea Museum 27 km
A museum of tea in the old Hanthana Tea Factory, built in 1925, about 3 km south of Kandy. Its floors hold the machines that once rolled and dried the leaf, and the top floor has a tea room looking out over the hills.
Udawatta Kele Sanctuary 28 km
A 104 hectare forest reserve on the ridge above Kandy's old royal palace. Under the kings it was Uda Wasala Watta, the garden above the palace; today its trails and tangled lianas are known for their birdlife.
Kandy Lake 28 km
An artificial lake in the heart of Kandy, built in 1807 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe beside the Temple of the Tooth. Locals call it Kiri Muhuda, the Sea of Milk; fishing is banned, and a shaded path runs around its edge.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic 28 km
A Buddhist temple in the royal palace complex of the old Kandyan kingdom, home to the relic of the Buddha's tooth. The relic was long held by Sinhalese kings, and the temple is a World Heritage Site because of it; each year it is paraded through Kandy in the Esala Perahera.
Ridi Viharaya 30 km
A temple from the 2nd century BCE at Ridigama, called the Silver Temple because silver ore found here paid for the completion of the Ruwanweli stupa. According to the Mahavamsa, King Dutugemunu built it in gratitude.
Sri Muthumariamman Temple 33 km
A Hindu temple in Matale dedicated to the goddess Mariamman. Its tall gopuram gateway is covered in rows of brightly painted figures of gods and guardians, and it is one of the best known Hindu temples in the central hills.
More hidden gems in Sabaragamuwa
Questions
Where is Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage?
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is in Pinnawala, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Lankatilaka Vihara (21 km), Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya (23 km), Ceylon Tea Museum (27 km).
How do I get the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Sabaragamuwa volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Sabaragamuwa volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.