Witness the world’s 6th greatest animal spectacle with Cinnamon Resorts

Wednesday, 24 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A recent classification by Lonely Planet placed this amazing assembly of pachyderms as the sixth greatest animal spectacle in the world. ‘The Gathering’ of elephants at the Minneriya National Park can be witnessed during the months of August through September. It is a seasonal movement of elephants during the underlying period to form a gathering along the receding shores of the Minneriya Lake. As the dry season fastens its grip on the dry lowlands, leaves wither and fall in the dry forests, waterholes evaporate into cakes of parched mud, and therefore elephants need to move on in search for food and water.

The elephants sometimes numbering as much as three hundred converge on the receding shores of the Minneriya tank. It is believed that nowhere in the world could one see such a high concentration of wild Asian elephants within a span of a few square kilometres. It is therefore an ideal opportunity for wildlife enthusiasts and causal travellers to study the social dynamics of elephants, and observe how the matriarchs lead their clans to water and the whole group takes care to safeguard the baby elephants that get flanked by the adults.

Being in close proximity, about a 20 minute drive to witness this phenomenal event makes Cinnamon Lodge Habarana and Chaaya Village Habarana the ideal base for accommodation to travel to the Minneriya National Park. Both hotels are idyllically located by a peaceful lake with extensive landscaped gardens. Safari drives with accompanying expert naturalists from Cinnamon Nature Trails are available at both properties during this divine time in the calendar of wildlife enthusiasts.