Elephant Nature Park – Ethical elephant tour in Thailand

I hit the button a lot responsible tourism here and on the blog's other social networks.

Maybe that's why I was so apprehensive on the way to the Elephant nature park.

Visit a elephant sanctuary it was the number one activity on my list when I thought about the trip to Thai. But I couldn't stop imagining that I would fall into one of those tourist traps, and end up in a place where animals would be subjected to mistreatment.

For a while I even I gave up on the idea and not included in the itinerary. Until Amanda, who accompanied me on this adventure, told me that she was also interested but that she wanted to go on an ethical tour with elephants in Thailand.. And that's when we started researching.

Several names came up, but most had complaints about the treatment of the animals, you just had to look a little deeper.

The only one that didn't have this problem was the Elephant nature park. Complaints about work?? Several. But nothing cruel.

We knew it was a serious company, as it ranked second on the list of tours of this type in the TripAdvisor (today it is #1), and we decided to reserve a date for May 10th.

I'll tell you everything about the place and my experience in the rest of this post, but I'll leave you with a spoiler: It was the best experience of the entire trip!

The Elephant Nature Park

It's difficult to properly tell the history of the place, as we heard a version in the guide that contradicts what's on the internet.

What I can tell you is how he is Hoje: a place for elephants and other animals to live free from their former oppressors. With more than 500 dogs, cats and water buffalos, they were rescued and now live in a safe place.

Roughly 37 elephants live in the park, which is more than 250 acres. Whereby eu As I observed, they can roam freely across the land, with only a separation between males and females, to prevent uncontrolled reproduction. There are puppies, some rescued and others who were born there.

Animals are, in general, rescued from precarious and cruel conditions. The older ones worked by carrying wooden logs, a practice that was banned in Thailand a few years ago, and which made them useless to their owners. They were then sold to circuses and other shows, but because they had disabilities resulting from years of hard work, they were unable to perform for long. For these reasons, their owners choose sell them to Elephant Nature Park.

Younger people are often rescued from attractions, such as football games, painting pictures or tours where tourists can ride them. To obey their masters, they go through days of mental and physical torture, where they are chained and suffer with fire, loud noises and whips. Most are only sold to the Elephant Nature Park for financial reasons or because they are no longer fit for work, and have problems such as dislocated hips, blindness, aggression and even paws that have suffered from mine explosions.

They only recover one elephant at a time, so they can focus exclusively on their most urgent needs, with a specialized team of veterinarians. They also monitor adaptation in the park, as elephants are sociable animals among themselves, and normally travel in groups. Most new arrivals join a new family after a few weeks.

Three types of excursions to the park are offered: noon, full day and overnight, which includes two days and one night. For those who want a longer ethical elephant tour in Thailand, it is possible pay to volunteer for a week or two, working with cleaning, maintenance and learning about the place and its animals.

Experience an ethical elephant ride in Thailand

A little over a month before the trip, we booked two spots on a one day. As it is one of the most popular shrines in the city, I don't recommend leaving it to buy at the last minute, as tickets tend to sell out weeks in advance, even in low season.

At seven in the morning, the van arrived at our hotel and we met the rest of our group, ten people, most of them from the UK. Our guide, Job, was also present, and informed us of all the safety rules.

The next hour, time to the park, we watched videos showing the reality of tourism with elephants in Thailand: shows, circuses, football, paintings and war reenactments are just some of the attractions. We also learned a little about the history of the park, and learned that they also rescue other types of animals, such as dogs and cats.

Upon arriving, we went to see the structure of the place. We start with nationwide observation deck, where baskets of fruit were waiting for us to feed the elephants. Lucky, an adult female, waited patiently to see if she could get any snacks. She ate the entire basket and, when she noticed that the food was finished, she decided to leave.

During the day, we saw several elephants approaching the nationwide to see if they could find a snack.

We went down and walked through the park, always with our guide. We met some of the dogs and went to visit an elephant that was in an enclosed area. I immediately asked about it, because I didn't feel comfortable with the situation.

Job told us that she had injured paw and, because he loved swimming and playing in the mud, the wound was taking a long time to heal. They decided to apply an ointment with antibiotics, but left her in a pen so she wouldn't dirty the wound and destroy the treatment.

When I write “fenced“I mean an area very large, I think it could fit around 60 elephants, and it wasn't chained or anything like that. Jilly (that was her name) played with us a little, but soon became more interested in the food she was receiving and dismissed our attention.

Although it is clear when they want to interact or not, each elephant has its own caretaker, who lets visitors know if they can get close or if it is better to just watch. No elephant is forced to play or stay with visitors if they don't want to.

The rest of our morning flew by, and we met other park residents and their families. No one could go near those with babies, as they are super protective and don't like strangers getting close to the youngest.

For lunch (included in the price), a vegetarian buffet full of options. Even those who eat meat won't go hungry, with typical Thai dishes, but also options with little seasoning, pasta and fruit.

The next activity was one of the most anticipated: Bath time. We went to the river and some elephants appeared to play. Despite not being led by their caregivers, they know that at this time there are several snacks near the water, and they head there of their own accord (or so it seems).

None of them were forced to enter the water, and many went there, collected fruit and returned to other areas of the park.

Those who decided to enter the water tried to bathe with the help of their trunks, but as this part of the river is very shallow, they were unable to get very wet. We were each given a bucket to fill with water and throw in the areas they couldn't reach.

It is a river full of mud, and many elephants relieve themselves there. Don't think you're going to get in the water and splash around, because that's not the case at all.. Still, it was a really fun part and I could tell they enjoyed it.

When leaving the river, they threw mud on their backs to protect themselves from the sun. That day, it was almost 40ºC and the heat was almost unbearable.

Our afternoon continued with great Note, as we had met most of the more sociable elephants previously. We saw a family playing in the deepest part of the river, another playing in the pool and some just enjoying lunch. They eat an average of 200 to 300 kg of food per day!

During the tour, we were able to ask our guide questions at any time. I learned a lot about the animal habits, how the park worked, the types of abuse they suffered, how they were cared for and more. This is the importance of taking an ethical elephant tour in Thailand, focused on educating visitors. They have a wall showing the before and after of several rescued animals, and it's both sad to see that they went through so much trauma, and happy that they found a place where they are well cared for.

Some observations:

• This is not the right tour for those who only care about taking their “Selfie perfect with the elephant”. Although it is possible at times, interaction with them is only done when they want, and there may not be a chance for these types of photos. It's very much an educational tour.
• Elephants do not have the physical size to be ridden. Most of its weight comes from its skin, not its bones, and its strength is concentrated in its trunk. We heard some Brazilians saying that this was “the invention and nonsense of politically correct people” and look… I don’t even know what to write about. A little research into travel activities always goes a long way.
• Don't forget sunscreen and repellent. Chiang Mai has warm temperatures all year round and the park is, of course, full of nature and insects.
• It's possible book through the official website: Elephant nature park. We pay a fee of 2000 Thai baht online and the rest inside the on-site shop.
• To read other people's opinions, check out the page on TripAdvisor.

And that's all I have to say! I really enjoyed the tour, but I confess that I still wonder if it's legal to pay to go see animals. Still, I think that a sanctuary, where the money from your ticket goes towards caring for these animals, is the best option for this type of activity. What do you think about? 

Have you ever taken an ethical elephant ride in Thailand? Which? Was cool?