Elephant Freedom Project
Elephant Freedom Project
5
Nature & Wildlife Areas
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8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
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About
Visit us and experience a special elephant encounter which is suitable for young and old, families, couples and single travelers. This is your chance to get a memorable impression of a day in the life of 2 Sri Lankan captive elephants who are not being used for working nor riding. The small family run Elephant Freedom Project offers refuge, freedom from work and hardship to the 2 elephants both named Kumari. At the project they are free from working in the riding industry and the wood logging. The Elephant Freedom Project aims to give them a good and safe home, which is made possible thanks to your visit! Booking in advance required.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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  • Tiffany G
    Muscat, Oman4 contributions
    Highlight of our trip to Sri Lanka
    Highly recommend the Elephant Freedom Project to all visiting Sri Lanka!!! It was by far the highlight of our two-week trip!!! The guide was a very kind, friendly and soft-spoken man providing us with interesting information on Kumari and elephants in Sri Lanka. It was a very intimate setting with just 9 of us on the tour which added to the overall experience. They also fed us a yummy lunch in their home afterwards. It was our first day in Sri Lanka and didn't realize how strong the sun is, so recommend everyone to bring hats, sunscreen and bug repellant, as we had left that in the car.
    Visited January 2020
    Written February 1, 2020
  • Amandine R
    11 contributions
    Amazing place! with real respect for animals
    Amazing place with real respect fot elephants! Many places in sri lanka are called 'orphanages' but in fact they hit elephants to make them obey. Here, only one elephant (kumari was saved 3 years ago after having being ill treated for wood industry) but all the staff is so careful about her! She is not hurt and she is cherished by her keeper. Only small groups (max 6 persons) so you really have the time to spend quality time woti het. About 1hour of walk and 30 minutes of bathing! Visit of dung factory is really interesting! Staff is really knowledgeable and nice. Their english is perfect which is rare in sri lanka! You end the half day with a very good rice and curry. Strongly recommended Nb : your driver may try to convince you this place is not good. Not a surprise it is the only place that refuse to pay commission to drivers (our driver even invented a far fetched story about it!!) You can go in trust to this place if you are animals lovers!
    Visited February 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 27, 2020
  • Kirsten J
    35 contributions
    Very interesting and memorable
    The Elephant Freedom Project feels educational and different to the other elephant experiences I heard about in Sri Lanka. There is just one elephant and you spend the half day caring for her. Your guide is really informative and I left with a real understanding of how easy it is for tourism to abuse elephants. You really got to feel like you understood Kumari and it was an unforgettable experience. This is different to going somewhere where you see lots of elephants but worth it to get to spend time with the elephant with only a few other people (there were just 4 in our group) and learn about them.
    Visited December 2019
    Written January 15, 2020
  • peterc0lvin
    London, United Kingdom54 contributions
    Beautiful half day tour.
    We did the half day morning tour and it was fantastic. The guides who walk around with you are so friendly and boy did the young guy know his stuff. Kumari the elephant was gorgeous and so friendly. The highlight was bathing her in the river but to be honest the whole experience is mind blowing especially of tou live in a big city as I do. We took a short 2 minute bus ride to the dung factory where they make paper and that in iself could be it's own tour as gives real insight into working life in Sri lanka. Finally big shout out to whover cooked the food for lunch as it was delicous, especially the sausage chicken.🤤
    Visited January 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 10, 2020
  • Lora M
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands43 contributions
    Nice Place for Families
    We visited the lovely elephant Kumari with our 4-year old and 6-month old and stayed overnight with the family. My son loved feeding Kumari her bananas and we went for a short walk, but had to return because the heat was so bad. The tour guide was informative and fun and they were really helpful with our children. We did not continue onto the dung factory part of the tour. I would recommend for families with small children, but be aware the heat might be a lot, especially if you’re carrying a baby. We pushed ours in a stroller, but the walking areas are rugged.
    Visited February 2020
    Written February 9, 2020
  • Mary M
    4 contributions
    Unique exeperience
    I can not say other words than HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! This was without a doubt one of our favorite exeperience in Sri lanka. We have been always very reluctant to go to any elephant sanctuary due to the horror stories of chains and beatings to keep the animals in control. We also refused to go to anywhere that condoned elephant riding but then we found the elefant freedom project, who rescue elephants from captivity and actually care for them. We liked that the sessions accept only a maximum of 8 people so the animal does not feel overwhelmed and people have the opportunity to connect with the animal. In ours, we were the only ones that evening, which made our experience even more special. The guys were amazing, they introduced us first with a very nice lunch followed by a bath session with the elephant, a long walk with her where we were able to feed her along the way, and we finished with a visit to the elephant paper factory and a sri lankan tea. We created a very special connection no only with Kumari but with the people that run the project, we are feel very proud and happy to have been able to contribute to such a beautiful cause and made friends on the way!! Thank you elephant freedom project!!
    Visited January 2022
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 27, 2022
  • Wrighty
    Gold Coast, Australia8 contributions
    Elephants are meant to be hugged not ridden - a meaningful family retreat
    We were lucky enough to be able to spend a week with this amazing family caring for Kumari (the amazing elephant) and getting to be part of the family. Ananda and Mali made us feel part of the family - teaching us amazing Sri Lankan cooking, language and traditions. Our lovely guide Kasun took our boys under his wing and was amazing with them! He gave them special experiences that they’ll never forget! The commitment to making life better for these majestic creatures was clear! A wonderful experience all round! Hope we can return soon!
    Visited January 2020
    Traveled with family
    Written February 10, 2020
  • Tammyvdb
    2 contributions
    A life experience and special memories.
    What an incredible place. This experience was just amazing. Our daughter is 7 and she has had an amazing time feeding, washing and walking with the two elephants The two 'girls' are so gentle and appear very happy and content. The handlers treat them with so much respect and love and they are truly loved. Please don't go to the big commercial elephant place down the road where they chain the elephants under the water for the tourists. Please don't ride them, their backs are not flat and actually not suitable to have the weight of multiple people on them all day. Please think about this before booking and take this option, you will not regret it.
    Visited December 2022
    Traveled with family
    Written December 18, 2022
  • Danlassen
    Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates106 contributions
    Don’t book their Transportation!
    A very lovely project, beautiful location and sweet elephant! Had a lovely day! But a bad beginning! Don’t order their pick up they offer! I ordered a Pick up from my hotel to the project. (Gateway Hotel Airport Garden). I got a confirmation mail that the pick up would be around 06:30 am. I came down to the reception at 06:20 am. In the morning and even skipped my breakfast. I waited to 07:50 am! More than a hour. No one ever came to pick me up, even tried to contact the number provided by Shashini (elephant project management) without any answer! No one ever contacted me!!!!! The hotel staff were so kind to help me with the transportation to the project, which I almost was going to miss as well at 09:00 am. I was really disappointed with this kind of service! And I don’t want any future customers to book transportation with the Elephant freedom project! As they don’t keep what they promise! So bad! I also had to share this experience with all of my 7000 colleagues in my airline, which regularly goes to Colombo. And this is sad. Otherwise, I reached the project! And had a lovely day! A lovely project and a lovely Elephant and project! Just such a bad beginning when you have booked a tour and looked forward! Daniel Lassen Denmark
    I remember this situation very well since it was the first and only time this happened. I arranged the transport the day before. When you called us and we found out that you didn't get picked up we were very surprised! I quickly arranged another driver however the harm was already done. Needless to say, we never used that driver again.  I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused to you but happy to read that you did enjoy your time at the project. Thankfully we could arrange it so that you didn't have to miss any activities. We hope to see you again in the future. Thank you, Shashini.
    Written May 25, 2020
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited March 2020
    Traveled solo
    Written May 17, 2020
  • Neenyboo
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania30 contributions
    Awesome experience
    We did the whole day visit and it wasn’t short of amazing. Buddi our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the elephants. We walked Kumari for a coupe of hours and it was 10 people on the group. We all got our share of feeding and petting and it was plenty of time. The trainer was very good with the elephant and we felt safe. We then got a Sri Lankan cooking lesson and helped with the preparation of the meal. It was fun and we learned a lot. We then bathed Kumari in the lake which was again a fun experience for all. We then ate the delicious meal that we helped prepare. Lastly we went to rye dung factory and that was an enlightening experience. I highly recommend this experience. I had no concern about the elephants care and felt it was a loving and safe environment.
    Visited February 2020
    Traveled with family
    Written February 10, 2020
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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655 reviews
Excellent
599
Very good
34
Average
7
Poor
6
Terrible
9

peterc0lvin
London, UK54 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
We did the half day morning tour and it was fantastic. The guides who walk around with you are so friendly and boy did the young guy know his stuff. Kumari the elephant was gorgeous and so friendly. The highlight was bathing her in the river but to be honest the whole experience is mind blowing especially of tou live in a big city as I do. We took a short 2 minute bus ride to the dung factory where they make paper and that in iself could be it's own tour as gives real insight into working life in Sri lanka. Finally big shout out to whover cooked the food for lunch as it was delicous, especially the sausage chicken.🤤
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lora M
Amsterdam, The Netherlands43 contributions
Feb 2020
We visited the lovely elephant Kumari with our 4-year old and 6-month old and stayed overnight with the family. My son loved feeding Kumari her bananas and we went for a short walk, but had to return because the heat was so bad. The tour guide was informative and fun and they were really helpful with our children. We did not continue onto the dung factory part of the tour. I would recommend for families with small children, but be aware the heat might be a lot, especially if you’re carrying a baby. We pushed ours in a stroller, but the walking areas are rugged.
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mary M
4 contributions
Jan 2022 • Couples
I can not say other words than HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
This was without a doubt one of our favorite exeperience in Sri lanka. We have been always very reluctant to go to any elephant sanctuary due to the horror stories of chains and beatings to keep the animals in control. We also refused to go to anywhere that condoned elephant riding but then we found the elefant freedom project, who rescue elephants from captivity and actually care for them. We liked that the sessions accept only a maximum of 8 people so the animal does not feel overwhelmed and people have the opportunity to connect with the animal. In ours, we were the only ones that evening, which made our experience even more special. The guys were amazing, they introduced us first with a very nice lunch followed by a bath session with the elephant, a long walk with her where we were able to feed her along the way, and we finished with a visit to the elephant paper factory and a sri lankan tea. We created a very special connection no only with Kumari but with the people that run the project, we are feel very proud and happy to have been able to contribute to such a beautiful cause and made friends on the way!! Thank you elephant freedom project!!
Written January 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wrighty
Gold Coast, Australia8 contributions
Jan 2020 • Family
We were lucky enough to be able to spend a week with this amazing family caring for Kumari (the amazing elephant) and getting to be part of the family. Ananda and Mali made us feel part of the family - teaching us amazing Sri Lankan cooking, language and traditions. Our lovely guide Kasun took our boys under his wing and was amazing with them! He gave them special experiences that they’ll never forget! The commitment to making life better for these majestic creatures was clear! A wonderful experience all round! Hope we can return soon!
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tammyvdb
2 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
What an incredible place. This experience was just amazing. Our daughter is 7 and she has had an amazing time feeding, washing and walking with the two elephants The two 'girls' are so gentle and appear very happy and content. The handlers treat them with so much respect and love and they are truly loved. Please don't go to the big commercial elephant place down the road where they chain the elephants under the water for the tourists. Please don't ride them, their backs are not flat and actually not suitable to have the weight of multiple people on them all day. Please think about this before booking and take this option, you will not regret it.
Written December 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Danlassen
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates106 contributions
Mar 2020 • Solo
A very lovely project, beautiful location and sweet elephant! Had a lovely day!
But a bad beginning!

Don’t order their pick up they offer!

I ordered a Pick up from my hotel to the project.
(Gateway Hotel Airport Garden).

I got a confirmation mail that the pick up would be around 06:30 am.
I came down to the reception at 06:20 am. In the morning and even skipped my breakfast.
I waited to 07:50 am! More than a hour.
No one ever came to pick me up, even tried to contact the number provided by Shashini (elephant project management) without any answer! No one ever contacted me!!!!!

The hotel staff were so kind to help me with the transportation to the project, which I almost was going to miss as well at 09:00 am.

I was really disappointed with this kind of service! And I don’t want any future customers to book transportation with the Elephant freedom project! As they don’t keep what they promise!
So bad!

I also had to share this experience with all of my 7000 colleagues in my airline, which regularly goes to Colombo. And this is sad.

Otherwise, I reached the project! And had a lovely day!
A lovely project and a lovely Elephant and project!

Just such a bad beginning when you have booked a tour and looked forward!

Daniel Lassen
Denmark
Written May 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I remember this situation very well since it was the first and only time this happened. I arranged the transport the day before. When you called us and we found out that you didn't get picked up we were very surprised! I quickly arranged another driver however the harm was already done. Needless to say, we never used that driver again.  I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused to you but happy to read that you did enjoy your time at the project. Thankfully we could arrange it so that you didn't have to miss any activities. We hope to see you again in the future. Thank you, Shashini.
Written May 25, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Neenyboo
Philadelphia, PA30 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
We did the whole day visit and it wasn’t short of amazing. Buddi our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the elephants. We walked Kumari for a coupe of hours and it was 10 people on the group. We all got our share of feeding and petting and it was plenty of time. The trainer was very good with the elephant and we felt safe. We then got a Sri Lankan cooking lesson and helped with the preparation of the meal. It was fun and we learned a lot. We then bathed Kumari in the lake which was again a fun experience for all. We then ate the delicious meal that we helped prepare. Lastly we went to rye dung factory and that was an enlightening experience. I highly recommend this experience. I had no concern about the elephants care and felt it was a loving and safe environment.
Written February 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jonas
3 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
We spent 3 weeks volunteering at EFP and it was an absolutely outstanding experience. We got to help carry out various meaningful projects and also got to propose and create our own. The loving family, the sweet coordinators and the rest of the team took great care of us every day. It is THE best place to meet, care for and learn about elephants, but also to gain insight in the sri lankan culture through family dinners, cooking classes and day trips. The way the former working elephants are treated at this place is unique and all the effort pays off when you see and feel how happy they are. You will quickly fall in love with their two elephants named Kumari. We would recomend staying here at least a week to experience the bonds being created between you and the elephants. Also, once you get to know the house dog Leo he is simply the sweetest dog - just remember treats! We will definitely return to this place! Thank you!
Written March 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Daniel C
Brasilia, DF31 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
I absolutely recommend this place as the most responsible and ethical a Elephant business oriented can be. You can clearly see for the whole day how not only the Elephants are well treated, but also respected and roam freely and on their own pace. The manhouts are passionate for the Maneki and Kumari and they are loved back. After so long searching for such a place, be it on Cambodia, Thailand, India or the rest of Sri Lanka, I really found a great place in The Elephant Freedom Project.
Written December 28, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robyn m
1 contribution
Jan 2023 • Couples
We visited EFP 2 days ago and had the best time! They really care for the elephants they have which was lovely to see.

The whole experience was very intimate and everyone got so much personal time with the elephants. Everyone was so knowledgable about the elephants and you could tell they are passionate about elephant welfare. We also had drinks throughout the day and a small lunch after which was delicious! Everyone speaks great English too.

This is the only ethical place to have an elephant experience in Sri Lanka so please support them and don’t support places that abuse elephants!
Written January 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Elephant Freedom Project (Kegalle) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Elephant Freedom Project

Elephant Freedom Project is open:
  • Sun - Sat 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM



Elephant Freedom Project Information

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Very Good Reviews34
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