Elephant Wonderland

When Zac and I had gone to the Andaman Islands, we were under the impression that the beaches on Havelock Island were going to be chock full of at least one elephant. We were sorely disappointed, in that respect. So, a couple weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, we were still itching to see some elephants. Then, I did what I do best – got on the internet and found the closest place in Kerala to see, ride, and bathe elephants. It was only a two day trip – we left way too early the first morning and then returned the following evening. Our first stop on our trip was Punnathur Kotta in Guruvayoor. Punnathur Kotta is an elephant sanctuary where many of them are trained to work and perform in Hindu ceremonies and festivals at temples.

My first impression of these gentle giants was how expressive their eyes are, and most of them, I thought, looked terribly lonely. They still seemed to enjoy themselves when possible, especially during shower time.

Punnathur Kotta holds about 50-60 elephants at any given time. It was a good place simply to see elephants, but no one really lets you interact with them. The elephants go about their business, and you walk around and watch them (they are chained up unless they are working, another bad part).

Our next stop, where we stayed the night, was Kodanad. When I had found the resort I wanted to stay at, I didn’t realize that the resort was directly behind the elephant sanctuary there. Every morning, the elephants pass by our resort’s front gate, and this guy –

– goes to the front gate, knocks, and gets a piece of toffee. Just take another look at how cute this little guy is –

I’m pretty sure in that last photo he’s trying to get my scent. He tugged a bit on my arm, and I thought I was going to fly in to the water. So, little guy was definitely the fan favorite, and I think he knew it too. Next on Zac’s and my bucket list was bathing an elephant, since that was one of the things we had hoped to do on Havelock. We had to wait until all of the less cool people left the riverside, and then the mahouts (the guys who work with the elephants) beckoned for us to come bathe a ginormous male elephant.

This experience was astounding. His skin felt like wrinkly, hairy leather, and when I was briefly using the scrubbing brush on him, he flopped his ear closer to me so I would massage him there too. Unreal.

After the bathing was finished, we walked up to the sanctuary to ride one of the elephants. While we were waiting, little guy came through again, after getting blessed at the temple –

Seriously, I could look at his photos over and over; he’s so cute. When our elephant came, we loaded up, and she took us for a very short “safari.”

Like I said, the ride was brief, but it was great. Half of the exhilaration comes from sliding around on the seat. However, Zac and I decided if we ride an elephant again, we’re doing it mahout-style (sitting near the head). It’s kind of overwhelming to be near a creature so large. We were putting our trust in an animal that could have simply swiped its trunk to the side, and we would have been seriously hurt. They are amazing, beautiful animals that I noticed have a lot of human-like characteristics. Little guy kept wandering off and getting in to trouble (not serious trouble, but his mahout would get frustrated – hilarious.), and there was a 16-year-old male in Punnathur Kotta that was rebelling against his mahout by refusing to shower or pose for a photo, just a human teenager would rebel. But maybe all of that is just wishful thinking on my part. I like to personify animals.

We also did a pilgrimage in Malayttoor on this trip – climbed up a mountain to see the apostle Thomas’s footprints – but that is a whole post on its own.

And now, just for giggles, here’s a photo of little guy sticking his trunk in my hubby’s armpit.

Heehee.