Visiting elephants in Thailand is a common thing to do for tourists. One of the most common places to visit elephants in Thailand is in the city of Chiang Mai. But not all elephant tours in Thailand are created equal – not by a long shot. Chiang Mai is home to the Elephant Nature Park – and it is an unforgettable tour from Chiang Mai. If you’re looking to visit the best elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, you’re in the right spot!

Just spending time in the presence of these gentle giants is an unforgettable experience. Passing them food, watching them play and walk through the jungle are all interactions you can have with these beautiful creatures without doing any harm to them.

I’d like to point out, there will be no recommendations for riding elephants in Chiang Mai, or trekking with elephants in this post. But there is a very, very good reason for this. If you want to visit elephants in Thailand, let’s talk about why choosing the best elephant tour in Chiang Mai is so important. You can still add spending time with elephants to your Thailand itinerary, just be careful who you go through.

Please note: Some links below are affiliate links. I earn a small amount through certain purchases you make, this does not increase the cost for you and helps support this site.

 

Why is visiting ethical elephant parks so important?

While elephants are considered a sacred animal in Thailand, many are subjected to less than ethical practices in Thailand, from tourism to logging. Before an elephant can be trained, they are broken. Baby elephants are torn from the mother’s and put through a process called “Phajaan”.

This week-long process aims to break the animal’s spirit and it’s so effective in destroying the soul of these creatures, elephants have been known to stand on their trunk to suffocate themselves. After their spirit is broken, they are trained for the industry they are sold to.

With the fear of the consequences, including beatings, these elephants become submissive. These giants carry trees through harsh terrain, allowing tourists to ride on their backs or painting a picture are all unnatural activities for an elephant. The use of nails or hooks are hidden in plain sight and used to inflict pain on an elephant to perform for tourists.

See why picking a legitimate company that cares for the welfare of elephants is so important?

 

What is Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai?

Chiang Mail’s Elephant Nature Park is a rescue center for elephants that have been mistreated in the various industries around Thailand. This sanitary has provided a refuge for hundreds of elephants and created branches throughout other Asian countries.

Elephant Nature Park is located 60 kilometers outside of Chiang Mai. Since being established in 1998, the park has become a haven for many rescued elephants. So much that there are affiliate pockets of the park that hold a small number of elephants.

If you’re not up for visiting the sanctuary itself, as more elephants tend to bring more visitors, these smaller parks are perfect for a more intimate setting. This is what my tour consisted of and it was an unforgettable experience.

 

What to expect from ethically visiting elephants in Chiang Mai

As I mentioned above, there are no elephant rides, tricks or performances. Hopefully, no one reading this far is still after that. The rest of this article we cover what to expect from visiting elephants in Chiang Mai at one of the smaller affiliated parks, not the Elephant Nature Park itself.

You can book a spot online to visit this elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai. However, there is a much more intimate setting where you can spend the day getting to know these amazing creatures and their distinct personalities.

 

My experience visiting a small elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai

Please note: some links below are affiliate links – I get a small commission if you make a purchase through these links. This doesn’t increase the cost for you and is a great way to support this website.

My partner and I met at the pick-up location around 8am and piled into the van with around 6 other tourists. From here it took around 90 minutes to reach the muddy dirt road, where we swapped our mini van for a four-wheel drive for the rest of the way.

During the drive to the elephant sanctuary our guide, Hit, played us a movie to teach us all why Chiang Mai’s Elephant nature park exists. The process of Phajaan, or breaking the spirit of a baby elephant so it can be trained is shown in a pretty heartbreaking video. It isn’t an easy thing to watch, but it is important to know why it’s important to care about every interaction we have while traveling.

The video also said how the founder of the park, Lek Chailert, went to an elephant show and felt bad after the show. Many elephants that are sick or injured are left to die. Soon after this realization, Lek began saving these amazing animals.

As the 4×4 parked and our small group piled out, and we began preparing breakfast for the three elephants eagerly waiting. After cucumbers and watermelons were sliced, three hungry elephants devoured them very quickly. It was interesting and funny to watch these different styles of eating.

The young male would eat the slices of cucumbers one by one, as fast as he could. While the 60-year-old female would want her trunk loaded up so full she’d drop half of it as she lifted it to her mouth.

Hit explained to us all how the park buys elephants, for around $71,000 USD, and how the park works with the Mahoots (original owners of the elephants) to educate them on caring for the second creatures. One of the Mahoot apprentices even tried to force one Elephant into the pool of water, and Hit stopped the man and explained it’s “not what these tourists are here for”.
After the food was eaten and the adolescent male stopped climbing over railings looking for dropped food, it was time for a short jungle trek. It was a peaceful walk as these large creatures climbed the gentle slope. Weighing in around 4-5 tonnes these giants wear the scars of their former lives

All up, I prefer the intimate setting of a few elephants and spending time with each. It was a great day trip from Chiang Mai, and educational as well. I had heard before that riding on an elephants back is terrible for its long term health but had little idea the extent that these unique and playful animals were abused and tortured for the benefit of humans.

Booking a tour to Chiang Mai’s Elephant Nature Park is worth it – it’s one of my favorite experiences in all of Thailand!

If you have experienced an elephant tour in Thailand, or anywhere if love to hear about it in the comments below. Whether that is a good or bad experience.

 

Video on visiting Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park

If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to the Horizon Unknown Youtube channel for more travel related videos!

 

Did you enjoy this post? From here, you can do a few things:

1. Sharing this post to social media helps educate others why ethical tourism is so important.
2. Sign up for Horizon Unknowns Newsletter to stay up to date with the blog and more tips and tricks to make you a better traveler
3. Download this post for later by clicking that large orange button below – it’ll save straight to a PDF!

 

Related Thailand Reading:

• Chiang Rai is another unmissable northern Thailand destination
• Don’t miss out on exploring Pai – a small backpacking town in Thailand
• Visit Bangkok’s unknown plane graveyard

 

Thanks for Reading!
Happy and safe travels,
Ben – Horizon Unknown