Elephant conservation holiday in Sri Lanka
Each extra week costs £250 per week.
Description of Elephant conservation holiday in Sri Lanka
Volunteer with elephants on the stunning island of Sri Lanka, helping to promote their survival in the wild. Witness their intelligence and beauty first hand, all whilst working to conserve this dwindling species for future generations.
You will become part of the work of a multiple award-winning charity working alongside local scientists and conservationists. You will be helping with tracking where the elephants go and what they do, whilst also monitoring and identifying them.
There are a great variety of tasks to be getting involved in here. You will mainly be helping with monitoring ellies, taking photographs, assessing elephant presence in the jungle and taking surveys. This is an extremely worthwhile project conducted in a beautiful spot off Sri Lanka's beaten track - and what more could you want than seeing elephants grazing next to you as your day's work?
The setting of this project is almost as exciting as the elephants themselves. Each day you will be working in grasslands, forests, next to watering holes and in small village communities. This area is one of the most beautiful that we have been to in a while (and we all travel widely here!)
Accommodation and food
You will be living in a beautiful mountain house located on the outskirts of a small village. The views from the house look out onto a striking mountain range and a large reservoir- not a bad vista to wake up to, especially when there are elephants bathing!
The house is rustic and comfortable. Rooms are comfortable and shared with 2 or 3 other volunteers.
Meals are provided and are varied and delicious. Vegetarians and vegans can be catered for.
Itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive to Colombo on a Sunday. Airport collection and first night hotel included. |
| Day 2: | Monday. Early morning transfer with public transfer to the project site, located on the edge of Wasgamuwa National Park |
| Day 3+: | Full project orientation before getting fully stuck in. You will have one day off per week to relax and explore the local area. |
Price information
Each extra week costs £250 per week.
Departure information
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Reviews
2 Reviews of Elephant conservation holiday in Sri Lanka
Reviewed on 01 Mar 2022 by Jacky Ridewood
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Having so many elephants around us when we went to the National Park.
Learning about the ways the elephant – human conflict can be mitigated
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for the high humidity and embrace all the activities.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
This project certainly benefits the local people and supports conservation. Local people are employed at the volunteer’s house. Local people are supported if
their homes are disturbed by wild animals and the main purpose of the project is to reduce the human – elephant conflict.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
An excellent experience.
Reviewed on 12 Mar 2018 by Julie Marshman
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
To experience the rare opportunity to work with the amongst the most amazing scenery that I have ever seen.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The journey to the Field House is a long but beautiful one. The Field House is basic, rustic but very comfortable and surrounded by amazing scenery.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes most definitely, the placement is amongst a local village, and the local villagers appreciated the efforts made by the volunteers.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I would highly recommend this trip, whatever your age. It is the best volunteering trip I have ever experienced.
Responsible Travel
Planet
The importance of the projectAsian elephant numbers have been falling dramatically for the last 100 years, in part due to human-elephant conflict. This project is the first participatory, community-based, elephant research and conflict resolution project in the world.
Protecting the world
We are passionate about encouraging our travellers to be kind to the environment as they travel. Each participant receives advice about how to care for the environment whilst they are away. This includes water usage, how to avoid single use plastic, and electricity usage.
We insist that all participants bring their own water bottles when they travel with us, and clean free water is always available. We have even created a water bottle that can be purchased before departure and encourage people to use it at all stages of their journey including at the airport, on flights and whilst on their project. We are striving for all of our projects to be free of single use plastic.
People
Meeting local needsAs well as helping to protect elephants and other animals, this project is mainly focussed on helping to improve human - elephant conflict issues. Elephants, traditionally able to roam where they pleased through the wild, are now having to forage for food in fields and homes. Locals find this hard to live alongside, and this project strives to understand more about the elephants' behaviour so that more farms will be protected. Projects to put elephants off going into farmland are completed, such as planting orange trees around field boundaries to protect crops- elephants hate oranges!
Cultural sensitivity
We emphasise the importance of showing respect for local people and their customs in our briefing material. Participants will work alongside permanent staff, forming close bonds and getting an insight into real life in rural Sri Lanka. We have weekly arrivals, which minimises the environmental and social impact that the participants have on the destination and helps them to integrate into the local community.
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