Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage Timings

Source: Department of National Zoological Gardens, Sri Lanka. Times verified for 2026. For ticket prices see our Pinnawala entry fees page, and for directions see how to reach Pinnawala.

Daily schedule: what happens and when

The feeding and both bathing sessions happen on a fixed daily rhythm. Plan around this table.

Elephant bathing times

The elephants bathe in the Maha Oya twice a day, and this is the part most people plan their visit around. The main herd is walked down to the river at about 10:00 am and stays in the water until roughly noon. They come back for a second session at around 2:00 pm and bathe until about 4:00 pm. If you can only make one, the morning bath is usually the calmer, less crowded of the two.

The smaller group of younger elephants has its own, earlier windows (roughly 8:30 to 9:45 am and again around midday), so there is almost always an elephant in the water between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Visitors who want to help wash an elephant can do so in the paid participation slots (around 9:15 to 11:45 am and 2:15 to 3:45 pm).

Feeding times

Fruit-basket feeding starts at 9:15 am and carries on until the fruit runs out, usually sometime in the early afternoon. This is the best single moment to see the whole herd gathered in one place. The youngest calves are bottle-fed milk on their own rounds through the day, the main ones falling around 9:15 am and 1:15 pm. Pair the 9:15 am feeding with the 10:00 am bath and you have covered the two busiest moments of the morning back to back.

Best time to visit and poya-day hours

If you have only part of a day, the window to aim for is 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. That covers the morning fruit feeding, the 10:00 am river bath and the small herd's sessions in one stretch, which is when the grounds are at their liveliest. Arrive by 9 am and you will also beat the mid-day tour-bus crowds.

The orphanage is open every day of the year, including poya (full-moon) days; the schedule does not change on public holidays, though the grounds get busier. For Indian travellers, Pinnawala works well as a half-day stop on a Colombo to Kandy drive, sitting roughly midway between the two. Sri Lanka keeps the same clock as India (both UTC+5:30), so there is no time difference to adjust for when you plan the day.

Planning the wider trip? See the full Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage guide, more things to do around Kandy, or browse our Sri Lanka tour packages.

Last updated: October 2026. Compiled by the TravelTriangle sri-lanka team from the Department of National Zoological Gardens schedule.