Discover the Ethical Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand, where you can learn about and interact with rescued elephants in a responsible setting. Our sanctuary prioritizes animal welfare, providing a safe, natural environment for these majestic creatures, while promoting education and conservation.
Welcome to the Ethical Elephant Sanctuary, a haven dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of elephants in Thailand. Located on Thipanet Road, our sanctuary is designed to provide a safe and nurturing environment for elephants rescued from difficult situations, enabling them to live peacefully and roam freely. Visitors to the sanctuary are invited to engage with the elephants in an educational atmosphere that emphasizes respect and understanding of these intelligent animals. Our dedicated team of caretakers shares inspiring stories about each elephant’s journey, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts and the need for ethical tourism. As you explore our lush landscape, you’ll witness the elephants engaging in natural behaviors, such as bathing, foraging, and socializing. We encourage all visitors to leave with a greater appreciation for wildlife and a commitment to ethical practices in tourism. By visiting the Ethical Elephant Sanctuary, you contribute to initiatives that promote the protection and welfare of elephants, fostering a brighter future for these incredible beings. Join us in our mission to raise awareness and advocate for sustainable practices that benefit both animals and local communities alike.
Ethical Elephant Sanctuary (เมืองเชียงใหม่, ไทย) - รีวิว - ThailandAgoda.com
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Ethical Elephant Sanctuary is perched on a picturesque hilltop overlooking Thipanet Road, 50100, Thailand
I booked this tour from home as they were associated with a Karen hill tribe initiative, so not the cheapest going around, but these guys are genuine, the elephant’s seem very well treated and cared for (and not a chain in sight like some other reviews for other companies). From their on time transfers, the final short leg over the bumpy mountain track in the Ute, our tour guide for the day “patchai?” (Even he joked it sounds like pad Thai) was great, jovial, very informative and spoke good English, plus a nice lunch, all as described. It’s a well rehearsed routine for the tourists but we all had great fun feeding the elephants, short stroll into the forest, in the mud bath, cleaning them in the river and good old water fight. The mahouts were especially cheeky getting the elephants to spray us with water and getting the elephants to hug you. They also took lots of photos and uploaded to Facebook, which together with our own photos, make for some unique holiday happy snaps. We had to ask questions to find out about the animals and the sanctuary, so perhaps a little more info and education would have been good, but thoroughly recommend these guys for a must do “touristy” adventure.
We did the half day experience, and it was one of my best experiences ever. We lucked out and had the elephants to ourselves for the first hour. They are amazing creatures. The elephants appeared to be in great health and appeared to be very well taken care of. If I find myself back in Chiang Mai, I will absolutely go back for another visit.
Fantastic day out at the elephant dream valley. From start to finish it was just great. Amazing experience and made even better by the tour guide and driver , two great guys who were great fun! Would happily recommend + a lovely lunch!
Excellent half day visit to the sanctuary. Early start as quite a long drive from Chiang Mai, and the last bit of drive was standing on the back of truck down a very steep, bumpy track, quite exciting but could be tricky if not very mobile…! We fed the three elephants sugar cane initially, then watched them eat grasses. We could get very close to the elephants, they didn’t mind being stroked. Then it was time for a mud bath which visitors could help with if wished, followed by washing off in the river. We had a nice lunch of rice, curry and vegetables. The guide took lots of photos (available free of charge from Facebook after the visit), there were a few souvenirs to buy if wished but not at all pushy. Well worthwhile.
The day was fantastic. All of the guides made sure we had a really good time, and having so much time with the elephants was absolutely amazing.I did the full day tour, which consisted of:Pick upMeet elephants, and feed sugar cane and bambooWalk through the jungle with them (AMAZING)Lunch (I was veggie, it was very nice and plenty of food. Free water)Mud bath with elephantsWater bath with elephantsWater fight!Goodbye with elephants, feed some moreAs I was going away in the 4×4 pickup truck out of the park I thought to myself I would pay more than what I paid, it was that good.I watched the mahouts closely for mistreatment; I did not see any. I’m not 100% any elephant sanctuary is entirely ‘ethical’ but overall this one surpassed expectations.
If you’re wondering which elephant experience to book, then look no further…book. this. now! We did the full day experience. Pachai (spelling?) and Sam picked my husband and I up at our hotel. About halfway through the drive we stopped at a local market where they bought the ingredients for our lunch. We then continued our journey to the Sanctuary. They were super friendly and talkative throughout the entire drive and answered all of our different Thailand related questions. Once we arrived at the sanctuary, the experience of a lifetime started. We started with meeting and feeding the elephants. That is followed by a walk through the forest with the elephants. We then had a delicious lunch prepared the the local Karen tribe. After lunch was time to bathe the elephants. First covering them in mud, followed by washing them off in the nearby stream. You spend so much time with the sweet elephants, you hate to leave them at the end of the day. All of the guides and Karen tribesmen are so friendly and really want you to take advantage of every second you have with the elephants. Another plus is that Pachai walks around with you the entire day and takes amazing pictures of you and the elephants, while telling you all about them. He later adds them to facebook and you are able to download them so you don’t have to spend the day trying to capture the moments on your phone. It really allows you to disconnect from the world and enjoy your time in nature. I honestly can not say enough good things about this group of people. If you are looking for an amazing elephant experience, this is it!
After a lot of research into where to spend the day with elephants we decided on the Ethical Elephant Sanctuary.I am so glad we chose this place, everything was perfect, an absolutely amazing experience.The elephants are looked after well and you can tell by the way they are left to roam and if they don’t want to go in the water or play with the mud, they don’t, they are left to do what they want and we are just there to be part of it with them. We did the half day trip and it was just right, nice early morning hotel pickup and only a small group of 4 for the morning. We got to feed the elephants sugarcane, bathe them in mud and scrub them clean in the river. This was followed by a homemade lunch, and a walk with the elephants through the jungle. To finish the day, our group hiked down to a waterfall and through the jungle back to our ride home. Absolute perfect, friendly guide and elephant handlers. Overall, well organised, good facilities and location and well cared for elephants!
This elephant sanctuary is well worth a visit!No chains hooks or riding!The elephants are treated Kindly and with respect, trained with food not force.It was the best day out in our 3 week trip to Thailand.Don’t book any other camp!
I highly recommend booking the overnight trip!!! We wished we had more nights!!! The elephants are treated well, which is obvious from their affection to the guides. They roam freely. They enjoyed the mud and river bath, and foraging in the woods. After playing with the elephants for 4 hours, the other tourists were taken back to the city, while our guide Rong took us to a waterfall and then a secret mountain shrine that was INCREDIBLE. Then they drove us to the remote village which was brain-meltingly beautiful. We stayed in a small hut on top of a mountain overlooking a big valley. They cooked us delicious food, and even brought us beer from the village that evening!!! And we had a campfire under the full moon. An unforgettable experience. We felt sorry for those that had only booked 1 day!!!! BOOK OVERNIGHT!!!
Dreadful place. I saw one guy hit an eleon the back of the legs. It was to my extreme left and everyone else was looking to the right. I told the people there what I saw and their reply was – perhaps it was a naughty elephant to which I replied – no it was not. When we arrived I saw a young guy with a stick in his hand next to their only baby elephant allegedly rescued from Myanmar. Within seconds he had dropped it. What a horrible terrible experience. Dear God I want to cry . Oh God . Then we stopped on route and there were 2/3 elephants in tiny enclosures for the benefit of the tourists. They must think we are all brain dead. I just want to cry with all that I saw and witnessed Richard Bannan14 Studholme Street London SE15 United Kingdom