Elephants and Thailand just sort of go together. Many tourist dream of having the perfect encounter with these beautiful animals, myself included! The Thai tourism industry is filled with experiences that allow you ride an elephant or see it perform circus tricks, but these activities aren’t the best for the animals’ welfare. Thankfully there are places like the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, which promote the ethical treatment of these gentle giants and provide a home for those hurt by the harmful practice of elephant riding.
Why is elephant riding so terrible?
Elephant riding or trekking is an incredibly popular attraction in Thailand. Who wouldn’t want to take a ride through the jungle on the back of an elephant? I totally get it. I admit that I had no idea how terrible this practice was until I started researching my trip to Thailand. So why is it so terrible to ride an elephant?
Elephants are wild animals and would never let a human ride them in the wild.
In order to be tamed, young elephants go through a process called “the crush.” It involves the baby elephant being tortured into submission by beatings, starvation and sleep deprivation until it submits to the mahout. A quick Google search of this practice will leave you feeling rather sick.
Even if the elephants weren’t tortured into submission, they aren’t built to carry weight on their back. Their spine can deteriorate or break from carrying heavy loads.
Thankfully there are sanctuaries where elephants rescued from these practices can live out their days.
The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
When searching for an ethical alternative to elephant riding, I came across a video from travel vlogger Christian LeBlanc about his amazing experience at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. I loved that you were able to interact, feed and bathe the elephants without any riding. The elephants at the sanctuary were all rescued from tourist attractions in Thailand.
We booked our tour directly from their office in Chiang Mai and were promptly picked up at our guesthouse the morning of our excursion. The sanctuary is located about 2 hours from Chiang Mai old city, but the last half hour is very bumpy. If you get motion sick I suggest bringing some medicine.
When we arrived at the Karen village where the sanctuary is located, we were asked to change into traditional woven shirts. This apparently puts the elephants at ease. We then began our trek up the hill to meet the elephants.
Pro Tip: Make sure to pack some essentials like sunscreen, water and shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. You might want to pack a change of clothes as well since things might get a bit muddy.
Interacting with the Elephants
We trekked until we found some of the elephants eating in a clearing. The guides gave us some snacks for our new friends and taught us how to approach and feed the elephants. We got to bond over some bananas.
We even got to meet one of the pregnant elephants. She was almost done with her two-year pregnancy and was due to give birth in only a few months. You could feel the baby elephant moving around if you put your hand on her side!
My favorite elephant was Pituk, who was just over 1 year old when we met him! He had tons of personality and loved to play. He and his mother were rescued from an elephant show, when she was injured giving birth to him. Both now live happily at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary!
After had their fill of snack time, we headed down to the river for a mud bath!
Some of us got muddier than others…
Once they got sufficiently dirty, it was time to wash off in the river! We all climbed into the river, where the elephants splashed themselves and us to get rid of the mud. It was so fun to be able to swim with these beautiful animals!
Sadly, after our swim it was time to say goodbye. We waved goodbye to our new elephant friends before packing up for the ride back to Chiang Mai.
We really enjoyed our time at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and definitely recommend it to anyone searching for an ethical elephant experience in Thailand!
The Specifics
- The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary offers half day, full day and overnight stays. I recommend the full day, as you get more time to spend with the elephants.
- If that doesn’t seem like enough time you can join their week-long volunteer program!
- Costs ranges from 1,700 to 4,900 Baht depending on the length of the visit.
- You can book online at their website, at their office in Chiang Mai, or through many travel agents in the city. (If you do book online or at their office you get to keep the Karen shirt you wear with the elephants!)
- The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary keeps the groups small for the safety of the elephants, so the spots are often booked up. Book a few days in advance if possible, especially during high season!
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Wow, I’ve never seen an elephant before and it’s so awesome that you were so close with them! I want to pack up and leave to Thailand right now!
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It was such an amazing experience! The elephants were so beautiful and gentle. It’s nice to see these animals are happy now in a safe environment.
I love wildlife experiences. You have to be sorta careful in Thailand though, as many of the wildlife attractions (tiger kingdome etc), drug their animals and maltreat them 🙁
Sadly this is so true! I had no idea about the mistreatment of the tigers at the Tiger Kingdom until I went and was appalled. Learned my lesson and always do my research about the animals’ welfare before I visit now. It’s too common of a thing in Southeast Asia.
I also had no idea how terrible this industry could be in Thailand. Great post, really informative! The photos of the sanctuary make me really happy that these beautiful creatures are being taken care of 🙂
I had ridden elephants twice before I found out about the negative impact it could have on them. My latest elephant experience involved swimming in a river and was much more rewarding for both me and the elephants. Thanks for sharing this.
It’s definitely a learning experience. I went to the Tiger Kingdom before I knew of the mistreatment of the animals and regretted it. But now we both know to search for ethical options and can spread the word! So glad you had a good experience with the elephants 🙂
Very nice blog post! I love these amazing creatures and it’s wonderful to see that there are people taking care for their well-being. This idea should be really supported.
Thanks for spreading awareness about these beautiful animals! Although I rode one many years ago I now campaign for their protection. I do however believe that washing and feeding as a tourist attraction is also something which should be avoided in order to give the elephants true freedom. This is a great article though
I agree with your point that it isn’t total freedom but since these animals were in captivity so long they actually wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild. At least on the reserve they can roam freely instead of being caged in the zoo. But zoos and reserves are a whole other gray area too. This is a subject I’m hoping to know more about as I continue to travel and learn more about animal welfare. Thanks for sharing your point of view!
I was in Thailand a year ago and wish I knew about this program. I avoided any elephant walks, but this seems like a ethical opportunity to get up close with the elephants.
Thanks so much for sharing this! It’s so important to be mindful of our planet and to travel ethically. YOUR PICTURES ARE AMAZING. I love the close ups of the elephants. Such gorgeous creatures, eh?
They were so adorably curious about the GoPro! I have so many photos of just their trunks snuffing the camera. They were amazing to see up close.
It is great that you’re raising awareness about the impact of elephant riding and more responsible alternatives. It looks like you had a wonderful experience here.
I’ve never realized how awful these industries are until recently and since then, I vowed to never again visit any of those again. Some establishments though disguise themselves as sanctuaries so it’s more difficult now to decide where to go. Lol.
This looks like fun though! 🙂
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Kudos to you for experiencing this responsibly. I don’t like when people sit on elephants for the fun of it. I didn’t get to visit Chiang Mai when I went in June , but next time for sure 🙂
Thanks for such a responsible post! Nicely done and I’m so jealous! Looks fun 🙂 🙂 🙂
I love elephants! Been to Chiang Mai twice and both times I visited an Elephant sanctuary (two different ones with no riding).
Amazing animals.
x
Hello Kassie,
thank you very much for sharing. It is a brilliant article and very helpful. After i read it, i was so interested to see the Elephant Sanctuary on Koh Samui. Luckily, I had 3 days more left to spend a lot of time there. Unfortunately, instead of COVID, no tourist is allowed to visit, but the Elephants need a huge load of food every day. The poor staff, couldn´t pay, because they do not even have money for themselves- A very sad situation. I spend and donate as much as i could. Very nice, that the tour agency from Koh Samui, gave me more than 50% discount for the two times, where I visit. That´s nice and i never got from another provider. https://kohsamui.tours was a brilliant agency. The whole day at the sanctuary was a very impressed day for me, to see and feeds the elephant. I was so close to them, unbelievable creatures.
Looking forward to getting your next article and go back to Asia as soon as possible
Your Ann