The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a fantastic organisation to visit when in Nairobi
Ben
Kenya Specialist
Published on
16 May 2018
Updated on
23 Jun 2020
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If you have a day or two to explore the Nairobi Elephant Orphanage is a must do experience. The orphanage is a place of inspiration and they have achieved wonderful things in their fight to save orphaned elephants.
Daphne Sheldrick (David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust)
Public Visiting
The orphanage is open to the public between the hours of 11:00 and 12:00. It can be very popular so we suggest you arrive at 10:45 am. You can't book a public visit in advance, so make sure you turn up on time!
During your visit you can get close to the action whilst the elephants are bottle fed and take their morning dust baths. Whilst you can't feed the orphans during your stay you can touch and pet the elephants if they come close enough.
How much does it cost... The entrance fee is 500 Kenyan Shillings (Approx. $5/£3.50). Great value for the experience and all money goes to helping the orphaned elephants.
Up-close and personal
Adopt an elephant
You can adopt an elephant at the centre for $50 a year. The adoptions make a great gift and help the charity to continue to care for the orphans. To find out more about adopting click here.
Adopting an elephant also brings some extra perks. There is an additional hour in which you can visit the orphans 17:00 - 18:00. Visitors can see orphans running back to the stockades for their milk feed. Once they are inside their stockades, they can then go ‘door to door’ to see them. This is a more personal experience than the public visit
As a fostering fee has been paid there is no entrance fee for this experience however Far and Wild recommend that visitors give a donation at this visit (donation guide $10-20 per person). Fostering one elephant covers access for to a couple, an individual or a family of two parents and two children of school age.
Please note that you can't adopt an elephant on the day. This has to be done in advance of your visit.
Private visits
Private visits to the elephant orphanage can be arranged. During this visit visitors can experience a scheduled milk feed for the orphan elephants. It's a much more intimate encounter outside with the orphans and their keepers. An employee of the trust would be present to explain the Orphans’ Project and the individual rescue stories of each orphan in the care of the Nursery.
Private visits last for 30 minutes and start at 15:00. They are suitable for a private group of up to 10 guests. A group fee of $600 is charged for a private visit. Visitors don't have to adopt an elephant for a private visit, but it must be booked well in advance as it's very popular.
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