Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Ticket Price and Entry Fee 2026

The orphanage is run by the Department of National Zoological Gardens, the same department that runs Dehiwala Zoo, and today it cares for 65 elephants, 27 male and 38 female. It sits at Pinnawala near Rambukkana in Kegalle District, about 40 km west of Kandy town, which is why most people see it on the drive between Colombo and Kandy. This page covers what the counter charges, what costs extra and how to pay. For the history of the place and the full visitor guide, read our Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage guide.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage tickets at a glance

Entry Ticket for Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage: 2026 Prices

The entrance fee for the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage differs for tourists from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries and tourists from other parts of the world. SAARC adults pay USD 11.80 and SAARC children pay USD 5.90. If you are from any other country, entry fees for adults and children are USD 17.70 and USD 8.85. The price of tickets for the locals of Sri Lanka is much lower. Sri Lankan adults pay Rs 295, children under 12 pay Rs 118, and school children who come in a group of 20 or more pay Rs 59 each.

The 'You pay' column is the official tariff on nationalzoo.gov.lk. The base fee is that figure before Sri Lanka's 18% VAT. Rupee and Indian rupee amounts use the exchange rate of 22 October 2026 (1 USD = Rs 331.71 = INR 94.59). The counter converts dollar fares at its own rate on the day, so expect a small difference.

The gap between the two scales is wide. A foreign adult pays about Rs 5,870, close to 20 times the Rs 295 a Sri Lankan adult pays for the same walk along the same river.

Pinnawala ticket price for Indians

There is no separate Indian ticket. India is a SAARC member, so Indian passport holders pay USD 11.80 per adult and USD 5.90 per child, about INR 1,116 and INR 558. The dollar figure is only the price label. You hand over Sri Lankan rupees, about Rs 3,915 per adult, so change money at the airport or draw it from an ATM in Colombo or Kandy before the drive. Carry your passport, because the SAARC rate depends on nationality and the counter staff may ask to see it. If you are still sorting out entry to the country, our guide to the Sri Lanka visa for Indians covers the ETA.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and Pinnawala Zoo combined ticket

Pinnawala Zoo is a separate open-air zoo run by the same department, a short tuk-tuk ride from the orphanage. If you plan to see both, a single combined ticket covers the two sites.

For foreign visitors the combo saves USD 5.90 per adult and USD 2.95 per child over two separate tickets, because Pinnawala Zoo alone costs USD 11.80 per adult and USD 5.90 per child. It also means one queue instead of two. The official table lists the same SAARC fare for the combo as for the orphanage alone, so Indian visitors should confirm the combined price at the counter before paying. No combined ticket is listed for Sri Lankans, who buy each site separately.

Elephant bathing, fruit feeding and elephant walk charges

The entry ticket lets you watch the herd, see the babies being bottle-fed and walk down to the river at bathing time. The three hands-on programmes cost extra, and each has its own ticket point.

Bathing is called off without notice on days of heavy rain, so do not prepay anything for it on a wet monsoon day. The fruit supply runs out on busy weekends well before 2:00 pm, and 9:15 am is the safest time to get a basket. The elephant walk is exactly that, a walk beside an elephant and its mahout. No riding is offered.

Why other websites show Rs 50, LKR 2,800 or INR 410

Older pages, including an earlier version of this one, still carry the pre-2023 tariff. Back then locals paid from Rs 50 to Rs 100, SAARC adults about LKR 1,400 and foreign adults LKR 2,500 to 2,800. Government gazette No. 2314/90 of January 2023 moved foreign fares into US dollars, and VAT at 18% from January 2024 was added on top. That is how a USD 15 base became USD 17.70 and Rs 250 became Rs 295. Some guides still print the base fee without the tax, which is why you may see USD 15 or USD 10 quoted. Indian-rupee figures such as INR 410 were never an official price. If a number does not match the table above, it is out of date.

How to buy Pinnawala tickets: counter or e-ticket

The ticket counter is at the main entrance on the Rambukkana road. On a weekday morning you are through in minutes. On long weekends and during the December and April school holidays, coaches arrive in waves just before the 10:00 am river walk, and booking ahead at tickets.nationalzoo.gov.lk skips the queue. It is the department's own e-ticket service for Dehiwala Zoo, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Pinnawala Zoo and Ridiyagama Safari Park.

• Step 1: Open tickets.nationalzoo.gov.lk, read the instructions and choose Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (or Pinnawala Zoo).

• Step 2: Pick your visit date and enter the number of local, SAARC or foreign adults and children.

• Step 3: Enter your NIC or passport number, then pay by Visa or Mastercard. A small convenience fee is added and shows before you confirm.

• Step 4: Print the receipt. The department requires a printed permit at the gate, where staff scan its QR code, so a ticket on your phone alone is not enough.

• Step 5: Lost the email? Use 'Check Ticket Status' with your transaction number to re-print, or SMS DNZG RES followed by your NIC and transaction number to 1919 for a confirmation.

At the counter, pay in Sri Lankan rupees and keep small notes handy. Before making the payment, ensure that you get a receipt of the transaction made. There is an official payment office that deals with the purchase of tickets at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. Do not heed any other person claiming to be selling tickets, and do not pay anyone near the gate who offers to be your guide. The department states that unofficial guides are not its staff.

What a Pinnawala visit costs for a family of four

Here is what two adults and two children (aged 3 to 12) pay for entry alone, at the 22 October 2026 exchange rate.

Budget a little extra for parking near the entrance and for the mahouts, who sometimes ask for a tip after a photo. Tipping is your choice, not a fee. A drink at one of the riverside restaurants is the other common spend, and it buys you a shaded terrace seat above the bathing spot.

Pinnawala timings: when your ticket is worth the most

The orphanage opens at 8:30 am every day of the year. The ticket counter closes at 5:00 pm, so arrive after 5 and you will be turned away even though the herd is still there. The moment most visitors pay for comes at 10:00 am and again at 2:00 pm, when the main herd walks down a shop-lined lane, crosses the road and spends close to two hours in the Ma Oya. They are back by 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm. A smaller group of about seven elephants bathes in between, at 8:30 am and 12:00 pm. Reach the gate by 9:30 am to see the morning walk from the front. Bottle-feeding times and the minute-by-minute schedule are on the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage timings page.

Where Pinnawala is and how to get there

Pinnawala is in Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa Province, not in Kandy itself. It is about 40 km (1 to 1.5 hours) west of Kandy and about 90 km (2.5 to 3 hours) from Colombo. The nearest railway station is Rambukkana, about 2 to 3 km away, and a tuk-tuk covers the last stretch. Bus, train and taxi options are on how to reach Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.

Is the Pinnawala ticket worth it?

The Department of Wildlife Conservation set up Pinnawala in 1975 to care for orphaned and injured calves, and the National Zoological Gardens took it over in 1978. A breeding programme followed in the early 1980s, so many of today's elephants were born here. Welfare groups criticise chaining, crowding and paid contact, and some travellers skip the bathing and walk programmes for that reason. Watching the herd from the riverbank costs nothing beyond the entry ticket and is the part most visitors remember. If you would rather see elephants in the wild, Minneriya and Udawalawe national parks, and the Elephant Transit Home at Udawalawe, are the usual alternatives. Our guide to elephant sanctuaries in Sri Lanka compares them.

Rules at the gate

The department's rulebook is short, and staff enforce it at the entrance.

• No pets, and no drums, whistles or portable speakers.

• No plastic or polythene. Bags may be checked, so carry snacks in paper or a lunch box.

• No smoking, alcohol or narcotics anywhere on the premises.

• Do not touch or feed the elephants outside the paid programmes, and do not climb barriers. Harassing an animal means a fine or eviction.

• Keep wallets and phones close on the crowded lane at river time.

More advice on what to wear and carry is in our Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage tips.

How we keep these prices accurate

Fares on this page are checked by our Sri Lanka desk against the official ticket table on nationalzoo.gov.lk and the department's e-ticket site, most recently on 22 October 2026. Dollar conversions are refreshed on the same day. We re-check the tariff every quarter and whenever the department announces a change.

Plan the rest of your trip

Pinnawala fills a morning, and the afternoon is free for Kandy. The Temple of the Tooth and the lake are about an hour's drive east, and the rest of the places to visit in Kandy fit into one or two days. For ideas beyond the river, see things to do in Pinnawala. Most of our Sri Lanka tour packages that drive from Colombo to Kandy can stop here on the way. Visiting Colombo as well? The same department's zoo has its own fee table on Dehiwala Zoo ticket price.

Edited by TravelTriangle