Pinnawela is a lovely riverside village near Kegalle, a town halfway between Colombo, the commercial capital, and Kandy, the cultural capital. The pictorial village is the only elephant orphanage in the world, caring for the world's largest elephant herd in captivity. It is home to many baby elephants, as well as a blind elephant and a crippled elephant. Elephas Maximus Maximus, the largest of the Asiatic elephant genus, is found in Sri Lanka and has patches of white skin on its ears, face, trunk, and belly. They are the darkest Asian elephants. A trip to Sri Lanka would be incomplete without seeing this large herd of these behemoths.In February 2011, the Elephant Orphanage of Pinnawela welcomed its 55th baby elephant in its 40-year history. The latest addition brought the total to 86.

The orphanage was founded in 1972 at the Wilpattu National Park, and was relocated in 1976 in to a 10 hectare coconut plantation on the banks of the Mahaoya River. The herd visits the river twice a day, the sight of the herd frolicking in the river deemed as a ‘must see’ for visitors.The breeding program in the Orphanage was started in 1982. The breeding commenced with two males and three females. The male and female pair named Vijaya and Kumari has produced three calves at intervals of five and four years.The Orphanage also produces paper made of elephant dung. The process is industrially feasible and commercially viable. The Elephant dung Paper is branded as “Pachyderm.” It provides an income to the villagers who are conservation enthusiasts fully integrated to the elephant orphanage that is the nucleus of a thriving village economy.