The 12 Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Visits in Colombo That Earn Their Price

1.Kandy Temples and Pinnawala Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 144 reviews · 1 day · from $54Our pick

Leave Colombo or Negombo at 6:30 AM for Pinnawala’s elephant river visit, Kandy’s Tooth Relic Temple, the hilltop Buddha, craft workshops, and a Pilimathalawa tea factory. English-speaking guides such as Aadhil, Dilip, and Susantha tailor stops in a small group of up to 10.

“This experience was amazing! We got so much done in one day without feeling rushed. Our guide, Tuan, was great--friendly, professional, timely, knowledgeable and always checked in along the way to customize our experience as much as he could. I'd recommend this experience. Highly recommended!”

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2.Kandy, Pinnawala and Tea Factory Full-Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 99 reviews · 12 hours · from $55

Travel from Colombo or Negombo to Pinnawala and Kandy in an air-conditioned vehicle with a multilingual guide. Feed elephants, visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, stop at a spice garden, craft and jewelry workshops, and taste tea at New Giragama Tea Factory. Lunch and temple entry cost extra.

“Amazing trip. Driver priyantha was very informative and helpful too.”

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3.Private Day trip Kandy & pinnawala with your selected attractions

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 53 reviews · from $65Top rated

Travel from Colombo to Kandy and Pinnawala in a private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking chauffeur-guide, possibly Dimuth. Choose key stops such as the Temple of the Tooth, tea factory, spice garden, Kandy viewpoint, city center, and Ape Gama. Lunch and listed entrance fees are included.

“We had a great day visiting Kandy and sites along the way, Dimuth tailored the tour to our needs - would highly recommend”

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4.Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage & Ambuluwawa Tower

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours · from $20Best value

Travel privately from Kandy by tuk-tuk or air-conditioned minivan with an English-speaking driver such as Masi or Rohan. See elephants, temples, tea and craft workshops, then climb Ambuluwawa Tower for wide mountain views. Confirm the elephant stop and tower opening before you go.

“It was really good , my Tuk Tuk driver took very good care of me , masi a very wonderful guy”

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5.Kandy and Pinnawala Private Day Tour from Colombo/Negombo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · from $65

Travel by private vehicle from Colombo or Negombo to Pinnawala and Kandy with hotel pickup, bottled water, and a flexible driver-guide. Visit an elephant facility, tea factory, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy View Point, and a herbal spice garden. Guide Anas has handled early starts and custom schedules.

“Great customized tour with excellent communication with the operator. Since we had to be back on our cruise ship by 5pm, arrangements were made to meet our tour guide/ driver, Anas, at 6:30am for a private tour to go to several places tRead more”

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6.Day Tour to Elephant Orphanage / spice garden

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 20 reviews · 6 hours · from $59

Travel from Colombo to Pinnawala for a six-hour guided outing with elephant viewing, river bathing, milk-feeding, transport, and entry included. Guides such as Pradeep and Ruwan can add local insight, while the spice garden stop should be confirmed before booking.

“The main experience at the elephant sanctuary was incredible but I'll caveat my experience with a few notes. Pick up bang on time and an excellent driver. I shared my trip with 2 others who were staying out the way; I found out that the paid much more than I did which is what it is but did mean the trip from Colombo was done on back roads and my travel time was extended to over 6 hours. We didn't visit the spice garden nor was it offered. Felt like we had to get back due to the extra travel time. As expected with these places the guards will charge/ask…”

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7.Kandy and Pinnawala Orphanage Short Excursions

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 18 reviews · 14 days · from $75

Travel from Colombo in an air-conditioned vehicle to Kandy and Pinnawala. Visit the Temple of the Tooth, watch elephants by the river, taste Ceylon tea, tour a spice garden, and see Peradeniya’s plants. Dhanuka has earned praise for friendly service, but guide English and vehicle size can vary.

“A special thank you to Dhanuka, he was amazing, drinking like a pro and answering all our questions even the most stupid one. We tried coconut water, visited the elephant orphanage and also this special spice and tea garden. Finally we went to the tooth temple amazing experience. Thank again and we racomend 100%”

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8.Pinnawala,Kandy Day Tour from Colombo/Negombo

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 9 reviews · 12 hours · from $62

Spend a long day visiting Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, a Ceylon tea factory, a gem factory, and Kandy’s Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. English-speaking guides such as Janaka and Tuan may lead the drive. Hotel pickup and an air-conditioned vehicle are listed, but confirm transport charges before booking.

“It was great with Janaka. He was very supportive. The car was comfortable. Big thanks to Janaka.”

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9.Kandy Temple of Tooth & Elephant Orphanage

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 7 reviews · 12 hours · from $62

Travel from Colombo to Kandy in a private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver. See Peradeniya gardens, the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy Lake, tea country, a herbal garden, and Pinnawala elephants. Champika has earned special praise for flexible, personal guiding.

“Champika was absolutely one of the best tour guides I have EVER had. He was friendly, welcoming, took the time to get to know me a little, and showed me some amazing sights and went that extra mile to make my tour incredible! He even diligently waited 2.5 hours for my ship to dock late, was flexible about where we went, and honestly was a fantastic guide!”

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10.Kandy and Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 7 reviews · 14 hours · from $85

Leave Negombo or Colombo early for Pinnawala’s elephants, then continue to Kandy for the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy Lake, botanical gardens, a tea factory, market, gem museum, and viewpoint. Your private English-speaking driver handles the road, parking, and return, with guides Gagan and Gajen praised for care and patience.

“The experience was wonderful. Gagan was a great driver and he showed us around all of the places as well was was super patient and helpful overall.”

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11.Kandy and Pinnawala Full-Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · from $70

Leave Colombo at 6:00 am for a full day in Kandy and Pinnawala. You’ll travel in an air-conditioned vehicle with bottled water, visit the Temple of the Tooth, Royal Botanical Gardens, city viewpoints, and a 30-minute cultural show. Groups are capped at 10 people, and guide Janaka may be available.

“We had a fun filled day tour from Colombo to Kandy! Janaka was an exceptional guide, he was punctual, professional, a great driver and incredibly knowledgeable about Sri Lanka. His vehicle was clean and comfortable, and he made sure evRead more”

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12.Pinnawala & Tea factory with Kandy Hotel Drop

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 4 reviews · from $60

Use this one-way Colombo to Kandy transfer to visit Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, a spice and herbal garden, Giragama Tea Factory, and Kadugannawa View. Your English-speaking driver, such as Gajan or Champike, handles the road, stops, photos, water, and Kandy hotel drop-off.

“It was amazing! Great experience and service. Champike was amazing, really helpful and giving me a lot of tips for Sri Lanka and helping me take pictures. Thanks for the amazing service”

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