March 20 - April 11, 2018
Executive Director Philip Price will guide you to the front lines of Asian elephant conservation as we produce our own videos for use in social media, and assist other production companies, as time allows.
We meet in Colombo, commencing our loop of the island, visiting the unmatched cities of antiquity, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa - presenting some of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world. Upon arrival, you will get grounded in Hiikkaduwa - a surfing mecca. After visiting Kandy’s “Temple of Buddha’s Tooth, we will spend time among the 91 elephants of the nearby Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (a place we are diligently working to improve). We will also visit the elephant orphanage of Uda Wallawe, where unlike Pinnawala, the orphans are raised to eventually be released back to the wild. The nearby Yala National Park will offer the greatest opportunity to witness wild elephants, while we are being guided by our ranger friends and a wildlife veterinarian. Upon our return route to Colombo we will enjoy the hill country and the Ayurveda/herbal gardens, and world famous tea plantations.
More Details: Our organization has supported BBC, M6 TV of Europe and independent filmmakers, like CameraQ of Sweden. We provide cameras, vehicles, logistics and our extensive network of experts in both the government and private sectors . Our Executive Director has a twenty year history in this field. Participants will learn about conservation, filmmaking and videoblogging. On this tour we are on-call to assist CarmeraQ in many facets of their film about elephants in culture - also Philip will be interviewed on film by the producer.
Like most of our conservation work, advance publication of a detailed itinerary is not possible, as we must remain flexible to cover the daily challenges facing the vets, rangers, farmers and villagers. We cover the most interesting stories of the day. We will also be collaborating with CameraQ to facilitate their film.
Like all our tours, your experiences doing this work will provide a lifetime of extraordinary memories!
Daily cost is $140. You will be catagorized as a volunteer, thus all your fees are tax deductible. Entrance fees to parks and UNESCO sites is extra (between $25 - $30 per visit). A benefactor also provides funds to subsidize/provide scholarships to qualified individuals/volunteers of up to half of tour cost. This is limited to the first ten qualified individuals, or $10,000 maximum.
Please click on this link to make a $500 deposit, or pay for this tour: