Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai

“Elephants are so beautiful. Why do people treat them badly? They should just love them.” - Cora Martin

The Dilemma:

Seeing elephants during our visit to Thailand was top of the list for our girls. The issue for us was that when we visited Thailand in 2011 our experience was NOT great. We were told that we were visiting a sanctuary where the elephants were all well looked after and rescued from a life of misuse and abuse... we found that the so-called 'sanctuary' was nothing more than an elephant experience where young elephants with no sign of past abuse were being used to perform for tourists.

I am sorry to say that during that trip Ross and I did ride an elephant (I blame a mixture of pressure from the guides and our naivety but really the responsibility is ours and we immediately regretted it). It was not a pleasant experience for us because it felt so wrong from the start! They did not seem poorly kept but they were clearly there for our purpose and not rescued for their protection. I wondered back then if there were any real 'sanctuaries' in Thailand at all or if they were all like the one Ross and I visited.

Before our first trip with the kids we did a LOT of research online to try and find somewhere we could visit that was a genuine rescue centre. Somewhere we could support where the animals were truly rescued and where there was no performance or riding allowed.

We found Elephant Nature Park

What is Elephant Nature Park?

Elephant Nature Park is an elephant sanctuary and rescue centre in Mae Taeng District about 60 km (37 miles) north of Chiang Mai City. It was co-founded in 1995 by Sangduen “Lek” Chailert, a Thai animal rights activist who remains the park’s primary spokesperson. It is a sprawling 101-hectare facility currently home to over 60 elephants, most of whom were rescued from tourist and illegal logging industries.

Tourists can visit for the day, over night or volunteer for a week or longer working with rescued animals which also include water buffalo, dogs and cats (many saved from the Bangkok floods of 2011).

Our Day:

We booked our tickets direct with the Park but you can also get your tickets through local operators and online tourism sites such as Trip Advisor. We paid 2,500tbh per adult and 50% for children so in total 7,500 thb for all 4 of us which was around £65 at the time. The price included transport and lunch.

730am - Pick Up

Our day started early at 8am when we were picked up from our Chiang Mai hotel (Itsy Hotel). We were the last pick up so the bus was relatively full but we all had seats together and it was comfortable enough for those who needed it to have a little snooze on the 90 minute drive out of the city.

9am - Arrival and Introduction

We arrived!! We were greeted by our guide who began by giving us a running order of the day, explaining some safety notes and reminding us of the main rule of the park 'no touching of the elephants'! He explained the importance of the park and the ethos of the company and its founder and then left us to enjoy the incredible view from the large wooden restaurant area. We watched as some of the older female elephants took their morning stroll in their huge, hand-made woollen blanket shawls to keep them cozy on the cooler mornings like the day we visited.

We then began our tour of the park. It is huge... 101 Hectares... so we only explore a small portion but it seems clear to us that the elephants have a large area to explore and are free to wander relatively freely. They are monitored in their small herds and have support workers who work either 1:1 with elephants or with small groups depending on their needs.

10am - Learning about the Elephants

WARNING - Be prepared for some upsetting stories about the elephants and their need of rescue (younger children might need to have further explanation or even a degree of preparation about what happens to elephants in parts of South East Asia before you go to the park). Most of the elephants were rescued either from the tourism or logging industries. Some have broken legs, others have limbs partially blown off from stepping on landmines. All arrived with psychological issues and emotional scars from having lived through a lifetime of abuse.

Our guide was excellent. He told us a lot about the park, its background, its cause and the individual elephants we saw. He was extremely knowledgable and had been volunteering at the park for a long time. All of the volunteer guides we saw were very enthusiastic about their role and the importance of the park's mission.

12pm - Lunch

Lunch was provided and was absolutely delicious! A massive selection of vegetarian and vegan Thai dishes to choose from and every one we tried was amazing! I always wonder how places like this manage to make SO MUCH amazing food in small kitchens! On the day we visited there were probably a total of 100 people in small groups and they fed us all with plenty of food to spare!

We had an hour of free time around lunch too in which we could choose to visit the 'Cat Temple'!... there are no awards for guessing what the girls responded when asked if they wanted to visit a temple of cats.... it was the fastest they moved all day!

1pm - The Cat Temple

A small area near the main building was home to the Cat Temple.... think less 'temple' and more 'treehouse of cats' and you will have a clearer image. I lost count of the number of cats playing with visitors but there were enough that you were never without at least one by your side.

One grumpy looking kitty watched from on-high, overseeing the younger, more friendly residents as they played with us.

If you are a cat-person you will love this little detour of the day... if not maybe give it a miss and enjoy a longer lunch and a seat over-looking the stars of the show.

130pm - The Tour Continues.. and a couple of very naughty girls!

Our afternoon tour started with a visit to one of the most elderly girls in the park. Her sunken temples a sure sign that she has had a long life; her buckled knees a sad sign that it was a hard life too! We were lucky to come across her as her carer was sorting her lunch and he let a few of us help him roll balls of mushed rice and gently pass it to her trunk. It was an honour to help feed such a majestic animal.

There is a strict no breeding rule in ENP (the few bulls they have are kept on the other side of the river in single paddocks), so the sight as we turned the next corner of two babies was a surprise. The babies and their mothers had come to the park, like a number of the younger male and female elephants, during the covid-19 pandemic when other parks could not afford to feed them. ENP managed to maintain its funds through corporate sponsorship and was in the fortunate position to be able to offer these elephants a new home rather than a fate of starving to death.

These little girls were really mischievous and so toddler-like in their play with each other and their interactions with the adult elephants. Alone that was lovely to see but we were in for an extra treat. We watched as the two babes started to grab the hose pipe watering the greener areas of the park and try to drag it away. They were almost laughing as they ran around the keepers and visitors and we all ran to get out of their way. Then one of the elephants, seemingly using the other as a distraction, ran to the hose pipe and kicked it with such force that it disconnected from the pipe and created a fountain of water shooting high into the sky. The joy was so beautiful to watch! They ran around and splashed in the newly formed river of water spewing from the tap with such pride and joy it will remain a core memory for everyone watching I am sure. While the staff tried desperately to fix the tap the elephants tried desperately to stop them. This continued for 30 minutes or so until the staff finally won the battle and the baby elephants wandered off, disgruntled, to find something else to play with instead.

4pm - Time to Head Home

The tour ended at around 4pm and we had a short time to grab a drink from the coffee shop or snack shop and browse the gift shop before heading back to our bus and back to the city. The return journey was a smooth as the one on the morning and we all thanked our guide for an incredible day.

Overall, a day trip to Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai was a wonderful way to experience these majestic animals in a responsible and respectful way. We left with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the work being done to protect and care for Thailand's elephants which was exactly what we hoped for!

To ride or not ride?

If you are reading this then I hope that you already have decided that you want an experience which excludes any kind of abuse of the animals but just in case you need any information on why this practice is bad news here are Eleanor and Cora's top 5 reasons NOT to ride an elephant on your visit to South East Asia:

1. It hurts their backs

We found out from our guide at Elephant Nature Park that elephants actually have relatively weak spines which can be permanently damaged by carrying heavy loads.

2. They get hurt when they are trained

A large number of the elephants at Elephant Nature Park were rescued from other, less ethical, sites where they had been trained using terribly abusive techniques to make it 'safe' for humans to ride and bathe them.

3. We are all animals

As Eleanor points out, we are all animals. Humans have no right or reason to assume we can use other animals for our pleasure. We can appreciate our elephant friends from afar and truly enjoy their interactions with each other.

4. They are very clever

It is somehow even worse to witness abuse when the animal is emotional and intelligent. Elephants show such incredible emotions, characters, intelligence and their relationships with each other and their carers are a wonder to behold. To use them for a moment of tourist fun and a few selfies is not only cruel but actually stops you from getting the incredible experience of watching them in their relaxed communities. They are so playful and human-like, we could have watched them for days!

5. It could be dangerous for you too

Visiting a site which allows you to get close to any kind of wild animals is a risk. These sites are portrayed a fun photo opportunity but in reality you are extremely close to a huge animal and the dangers are not often well communicated. We felt completed safe at Elephant Nature Park because the guides kept us at a distance and gave us clear instructions to follow if any of the animals started to behave in a way that implied they were feeling in a naughty mood. Thankfully the only naughtiness we saw were two babies creating their own river by ripping a hose from its tap (more on that later) but we were well prepared to move quick if we needed to AND of course we were not ON any of the animals so there was no risk of falling or being thrown.

The Conclusion:

So... was Elephant Nature Park the ethical safe-haven it promised to be?

YES! 100%.... in our experience it was everything we hoped and more. Your ticket money is well spent not only on the huge costs it takes to feed and care for the elephants but also on the mission of the company to educate and empower other parks, sanctuaries and tourist sites to prove to them that tourists list as are at least equally (if not more) willingly to pay for a HANDS OFF ELEPHANT EXPERIENCE as we would have been to visit a site where riding is allowed.

If you decide to visit Elephant Nature Park we hope you have a similar, magical experience to us.

Safe travels and lots of love from Amy, Ross, Eleanor and Cora

TravellingTheWorldWithKids.com