Animal lovers who want a fascinating experience that goes beyond mere tourism with 70+ elephants in the famous Pinawala Elephant Orphanage

Sri Lanka is an exotic island, famous for its 1,600 kilometres of unspoilt, golden beaches and diverse climate zones. It is the proverbial paradise island! This project is an opportunity to experience the world-famous Pinawala Elephant Orphanage in a behind-the-scenes, indepth way that no tourist ever gets.

An Elephant Experience at Pinawala Elephant Orphanage in Exotic Sri Lanka

The Elephant Orphanage is a sanctuary for rescued, injured or abused elephants and attracts visitors from all over the world to view these magnificent animals. Around 70 elephants have found homes at Pinnawala, including some small babies who have been born into the herd.

You'll have a marvelous experience working with these regal animals and the daily highlight is the walk from the Orphanage down to the river to bathe the elephants. It's amazing to watch an entire herd splashing around and rolling in the river ... just feet in front of you!

What you'll gain from doing this Project:

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into the exotic island of Sri Lanka.


• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.


• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market


• The enormous satisfaction of helping to contribute to the well-being of previously abused or orphaned elephants


• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

Project Overview

Working hours on this project are quite short and you certainly won't be overloaded with work, so you'll have plenty of time to sightsee and explore.

You'll have hands-on contact with some of the elephants, but there are some others who are overly large or have not been tamed or trained to a satisfactory level, so you won't be able to safely have full hands-on contact with those.

This is not a conservation project. Rather, the majority of volunteer work deals more with the day-to-day aspects of running the elephant orphanage than more specialised research or veterinary based work, although you will have the opportunity to do some hands-on work. Part of your duties will include:

• Walking with the elephants down to the river every day and supervising their bathing - this takes place twice daily.


• Participating in bathing some of the smaller elephants.


• Mucking out the elephant enclosures in the morning.


• Elephants are very intelligent and need a lot of mental stimulation. You can contribute a lot in this area, thus improving their mental wellbeing.


• You may be asked to help with possible construction or maintenance projects.

Other Work Resposibilities, Subject to Availability & Experience:

• Washing and feeding the baby elephants.


• On one or two afternoons a week, you will be able to assist and observe the vets in their daily duties.


• Some work, such as the mental stimulation of the elephants, is normally left to the initiative of the volunteers. The Mahouts (dedicated elephant trainers) may assist the individual volunteer in this, but you will need to initiate this work yourself.

Accommodation and Living in Sri Lanka

You'll live in a lovely house with other Travellers volunteers in the nearby town of Kegalle. The house is typical of the Sri Lankan style and you will have all necessary facilities and a comfortable communal living area to socialise in.

Food and Transport
A live-in chef will cook all your meals for you and current volunteers say that the food is delicious!!

Additional Activities you can do while on this Project:

All our volunteers use their weekends and free time to do a lot of travelling around the southern part of the island. There are many, many attractive tourist sights to see, ranging from gloriious beaches to impressive temples. Thw towns and villages are fascinating and so different to what we're used to in the Western world.

This project can also be combined with any of our other projects in Sri Lanka. A very popular combination that most of our volunteers do is the Elephant experience combined with teaching in Ja-Ela where we have an enormous and very beautiful volunteer house. This way you get two very different experiences in two very different locations.

What to do next

Talk to us - We're there to help you. 0845 3 447 585

Most of our team are ex Travellers volunteers and are ideally qualified to offer advice and guidance because they know what you're looking for. They'll help you find your perfect project - and then make it all happen!

If you’d like more information about this or any of our projects, please email or call us!

If you’d like to apply for this project, please go to our website and complete the application form. As soon as we receive it, we’ll liaise with you and then start making your travel adventure happen.

It’s as easy as that.

0845 344 7585

YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE! Help children, animals and conservation around the world. Gain valuable work experience and new skills. All ages & nationalities welcome. EXPLORE a new culture from the inside on worthwhile, well-structured projects. FLEXIBLE: From two weeks to one year - you choose your dates and duration.