Elephants live for up to a hundred years

A travelogue about returning not only to Sri Lanka, published to celebrate the 100th birthday of Miroslav Zikmund.

Elephants Live to a Hundred is a travelogue through space and time, a story of chance, maturing, and growing old. It is a book about life's returns.

Set sail on an overseas journey to exotic Sri Lanka and into the memories of the traveller Miroslav Zikmund, who wants to tell you about green tea plantations, the wild ocean, and unforgettable views from unpredictable mountains, on whose peaks the hot air, mixed with the scent of hibiscus and jasmine, will make your head spin. Embark on a journey of chance, friendship, and maturing, and celebrate with him a hundred years filled with faraway lands, vibrant colours, and a thousand tastes and experiences!

Miroslav Zikmund was born on 14 February 1919 in Plzeň. With his lifelong partner Jiří Hanzelka, he travelled to a total of 83 countries around the world. In 2000, he set off for Sri Lanka for the third time, but on this occasion with Petr Horký and Miroslav Náplava. Their journey is interwoven not only with expeditions to sacred temples, guarded for centuries by Buddha statues, but also with visits to extraordinary personalities, such as the writer Arthur C. Clarke and the famous Sri Lankan dancer and Miroslav's old friend, Chitrasena.

In 1969, Miroslav Zikmund went to Sri Lanka to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Let's celebrate his incredible 100th birthday with a symbolic return to this tropical paradise.