We're celebrating our 10th birthday at Escape Worldwide,
and looking back at 10 years of globetrotting in the name of bringing you great
holidays - at least that's our excuse! We're having a look at our personal top
10 favourite travel experiences of the last 10 years.
Karen watches bathtime for baby elephants!
"Sri Lanka has to be one of my favourite countries – I’ve visited a few times now, and on each occasion I see new places and a different side to the Island. There’s so much to take in, so it’s hard to say where my favourite location would be, but I think I’d put the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage top of my list! It’s quite easy to get to from the coast, too, so even if you visit Sri Lanka on a beach holiday rather than a tour, try to get here.
"Sri Lanka has to be one of my favourite countries – I’ve visited a few times now, and on each occasion I see new places and a different side to the Island. There’s so much to take in, so it’s hard to say where my favourite location would be, but I think I’d put the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage top of my list! It’s quite easy to get to from the coast, too, so even if you visit Sri Lanka on a beach holiday rather than a tour, try to get here.
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| Karen gets up close |
Personally, I think Sri Lanka lends itself exceptionally well to a bit of touring,
spending a few days in the main areas - the North has loads of historical
interest, centered around Sigiriya and its famous Rock Fortress along with the ancient
capitals of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura; the Central Highlands has some of Sri
Lanka's most beautiful countryside with the tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya
being really interesting; while the South is great for wildlife, with national
parks such as Yala and Udawalawe being great for elephants and even leopard.
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| Local school kids on a day out |
If you get to Pinnawela quite early, you can see the resident elephants in
their forested area, a short way from the river and with plenty of space for
the elephants to roam around in. The orphanage was set up to help orphaned wild
elephants that were found in the area, and has now grown to have the largest
herd of captive elephants in the world. There are elephants of all ages here -
the younger ones are fed huge bottles of milk, which are glugged down in
seconds!
Then it’s off to the river for bath time! It’s a short walk for the elephants (and for the visitors!) from their fields to the river, and a local restaurant offers a great viewing area – and is also perfect for a cooling drink in the tropical climate. As the elephants step in to the river, it’s the younger ones that take centre stage. Their excitement is obvious, as they start splashing in the water and jumping on to the rocks! The elephant handlers give them a good scrub in the water, making them lie down so that they can reach them properly – even a baby elephant is the size of a car.
Then it’s off to the river for bath time! It’s a short walk for the elephants (and for the visitors!) from their fields to the river, and a local restaurant offers a great viewing area – and is also perfect for a cooling drink in the tropical climate. As the elephants step in to the river, it’s the younger ones that take centre stage. Their excitement is obvious, as they start splashing in the water and jumping on to the rocks! The elephant handlers give them a good scrub in the water, making them lie down so that they can reach them properly – even a baby elephant is the size of a car.
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| Bath time! |
It’s easy to build a visit to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in to a holidayto Sri Lanka, and many of our tours include it anyway – but even if you’re
planning a week or two simply relaxing on the beach (and I admit that it’s very
tempting to do absolutely nothing in Sri Lanka as the beaches are beautiful!)
I’d really urge you to find the time to drag yourself away from the beach to
visit this excellent elephant sanctuary.”
Next time shopping in Bangkok
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