Elephants and turtles: an honest guide to the sanctuaries

About Elephants and turtles: an honest guide to the sanctuaries

By the ULTIMATE Sri Lanka Editorial Team

Site Editor: Tara de la Motte

Sri Lanka has thousands of wild elephants and five species of sea turtle on its beaches. Several places let visitors see them up close, from a state orphanage to turtle hatcheries, and they are not all alike.

Wild first

Sri Lanka is one of the easiest places in Asia to see wild elephants: in Udawalawe almost all year, and at Minneriya and Kaudulla during the dry-season “gathering”, roughly July to October. Take a safari with a licensed jeep, keep your distance, stay quiet and never feed wild elephants.

The Elephant Transit Home

At Udawalawe, the Department of Wildlife Conservation runs the Elephant Transit Home, which raises orphaned calves and returns them to the wild when they are old enough. There is no contact with the calves: visitors watch the feeding times from a viewing area. Of the places in this guide, it is the one most clearly focused on returning elephants to the wild.

The best place to see a Sri Lankan elephant is in the wild, with a herd at the water’s edge and the engine switched off.

Pinnawala

The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, between Colombo and Kandy, has been run by the state since 1975. It began as a refuge for orphaned elephants and now keeps a large captive herd, many born there, which is walked to the river to bathe. It is very popular, but animal-welfare groups have criticised the use of chains, the crowds and captive breeding. Visitors should know this before deciding whether to go.

The Millennium Elephant Foundation

Near Kegalle, the Millennium Elephant Foundation cares for captive elephants and runs a mobile vet service. It offers elephant walks and volunteering. It has offered rides in the past, and sources disagree on whether rides have ended. Ask what is included before you book, and do not ride.

Turtle hatcheries

Along the west coast, especially around Kosgoda, private hatcheries buy turtle eggs, rebury them and release the hatchlings. Supporters say this protects eggs that would otherwise be eaten or sold; critics point to hatchlings kept in tanks for visitors, daytime releases and handling, which can harm the young turtles. If you visit, choose a hatchery that releases hatchlings promptly at night, does not keep adult turtles in tanks and does not let visitors handle them. Seeing turtles in the sea, at Hikkaduwa or Rekawa, with distance and respect, is the gentlest way.

How to choose

Avoid anywhere that offers elephant rides, elephant shows, bathing with elephants or handling of turtles. Choose wild safaris and places whose focus is release back into the wild, and ask questions before you pay.

Our advice: see elephants in the wild in Udawalawe or Minneriya, add the Elephant Transit Home’s feeding time at Udawalawe, and say no to riding or touching any animal.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Elephants and turtles: an honest guide to the sanctuaries before you go.