A Visit To An Elephant Sanctuary In Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is a city in the north of Thailand that you can’t miss if you decide to spend some time in the land of smiles. Here, in addition to temples, markets and good food, you have the opportunity to participate in unforgettable excursions; but you must always be careful to avoid those that are too touristy.

A great desire we had, once we arrived at this location, was to get to know the elephants up close and to be able to understand something more about these sweet giants.

The Asian elephant is considered very important as it represents the sacred animal to Buddha and Buddhism is one of the most widespread religions in Thailand, despite this, many excursions allow tourists to ride these animals, a form of mistreatment.

We therefore wanted to be sure of participating in an excursion to a park where the elephants were treated well, in an ethical and human way. After several researches, we opted for a full day visit to the Elephant Rescue National Park, an exit suggested by a very kind Thai met a little by chance who shared our ideals about it, we trusted each other and … we couldn’t have made a better choice!

Duration: from 8.30 to about 17.00
Booking: at the Elephant Rescue National Park agency, 89 Ratchamanka Rd, พระ สิงห์ Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Chang Wat Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Price: 2400 bath (about 76 dollars)

Day at the Elephant Rescue National Park

We booked an excursion by an agency in Chiang Mai the night before leaving for this experience. The guide came to pick us up from our hotel Amata Lanna Jangmuang (if you want € 15 discount for your booking click here) at 8.30 am and after about 1 hour and half of Van we arrived at destination.

Once we reached the park, we changed with the traditional clothes of the Karen tribe and, after sipping a coffee, we started feeding bamboo leaves to the 8 elephants in the park. They were very greedy, their needs are around 150–200 kg of food and they spend most of the day eating.

After taking some confidence with our new friends, the caretakers freed them and so we could walk alongside them, stroking them and offering them bananas. They also hugged us with their proboscis and Marco caught a kiss with a snap (his comment: “wet”).

In the group there was the 67-year-old grandmother, two puppies and a 14-month-old baby elephant (the baby will arrive in December — the pregnancy lasts about 2 years). Being able to touch the belly of the mother and perceive the movements of the puppy inside it was a very emotional moment… how wonderful Nature is!

We returned to the base and it was time for the Thai lunch, prepared by the locals, accompanied by seasonal fruit tea and coffee. Here we got to know our fellow adventurers, a couple from Mauritius, an Australian boy and a Belgian boy. Few but good.

Well, it’s time to bathe in the mud! They tell us to put on our bathing suits and present us with a nice pool of mud where the elephants were waiting for us and… splash!  Here we are immersed up to the knees in the mud ready to cover the mud animals.

One thing that Marco and I always say is Carpe Diem. Do not get stuck in the thought that you will be more or less covered in mud until the evening… it is an experience to do, it may not happen again.

All muddy (but photoprotected: D) we headed to a stream where we had fun cleaning up the elephants (and us too) from the mud, but don’t worry that at the end of this moment a shower is waiting for you to remove any excess then, waiting to dry in the sun, then we had the opportunity to spend some time with the elephants and be able to give them bamboo leaves.

The adventure is over. The day was very full and unfortunately it flew in an instant but there was enough time to be in close contact with these good giants and to be able to know a little better the small group of people who were sharing this excursion with us.

Satisfied with the day, returning from the journey we reflected on how extraordinary and powerful nature is and on how fundamental it is to protect it, care for it and respect it. Let’s not forget it! 

Advice on what to bring:

A complete change because bathing in mud with elephants is very likely to make you dirty.
Swimsuits so you can take off your cloths and have a nice bath
 Anti-mosquito spray
Slippers
GoPro
Towel to dry after cleaning yourself from the mud