Spend a Day Getting Personal With Elephants
Choosing the Right Elephant Park
A number of elephant parks are clustered around the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. They vary widely in activities and philosophies. After our research and discussion with a fellow traveling family, we chose Elephant Nature Park to spend the day getting personal with elephants.
This preserve is dedicated to injured elephants being rehabilitated and raised conscientiously. Their outreach has gone beyond elephants; they have rescued dogs, cats and water buffalo (you can adopt the dogs and cats).They also don’t let you ride the elephants. If you have done your due diligence, you know that riding elephants is not okay. It is cruel and harmful to the elephants’ well being.
What the Nature Park Offers
The Elephant Nature Park, has many different options to chose from when visiting their park. Short day visits, single day visits which includes bathing elephants, hiking with elephants and a two day stay with use of accommodations on-site. All of the visits include transportation from your hotel to the nature park, lunch and dinner (if you are staying overnight) and a snack. You are set up with a guide who will tell you all about the elephants, names, why they are at the park, how they have adapted and much more. There are some elephants that will allow visitors to touch them and some that you need to stay away from. Being in the park, watching and being so close to the elephants is an amazing experience.
Our Elephant Experience
We chose the single day visit as we wanted the kids to have the experience of bathing the elephants. We recommend you choose this over the short day visit. Our day started out early, with a pick-up from the hotel in Chaing Mai and about a one and a half hourf drive into the countryside of Thailand. Upon arrival, we immediately were taken in to feed the elephants. Large portions of fruit were handed to us and the elephants gathered up to rail post and happily took the fruit right out of our hands with their trunks.
It was surreal, watching my kids so close to these massive creatures, feeding them right from their hands. I loved it as I watched the kids’ smiles grow with each piece of fruit being handed out. They were actually having the trunks of elephants whisk food right out of their tiny hands. As the fruit ran out, we moved on as did the elephants.
Learning About the Elephants
As we wandered through the preserve, dogs joyfully playing without a care around our legs, we were told about the elephants. For some, it was the trauma they endured or the land mine they stepped on, and how their lives were now better that they were at the preserve. We were able to walk up to a couple of the elephants, pet them, take pictures with them and just marvel at their beauty. Their trunks reached around, sniffing at us, blowing their air on us as if they were petting us as well.
We continued our tour of the preserve, watched some more elephants graze, dogs play and the few cats slink around, then headed in for lunch. It was hot, so lunch was a nice break to cool off and get some energy back.
Watching the Elephants in Their Habitat
We wandered towards a fast flowing river after our break and watched as a handful of elephants bathed in the middle. The guide pointed out the baby in the river and showed us how all of the adult elephants surrounded the baby as if they wer all the parents of this one baby. The kids were mesmerized by this community of elephants and their behavior to care for one another.
They saw these animals for something more than just animals, but as thinking, caring beings. As we stood watching, a couple of elephants walked right in our path, so close that we had to jump out of the way in order to not be trampled. It was exciting for the kids as it reminded them they were in the elephants territory, not their own.
Taking Time for a Bath
This was probably the best part of the day for our kids and for us, the bathing of the elephants. The elephants stand in shallow river water as buckets of water are thrown onto their bodies. A large bucket of food keeps each elephant occupied and happy among the screaming kids.
Our three kids were given their own elephant to bathe. They happily ran into the water and proceeded to throw bucket after bucket of water on the elephant while the elephant seemed to just stand there patiently enjoying the cool down.
After a while the buckets of water were no longer thrown on the elephant, but on each other, The laughter and delight from the water fight while standing next to a patient elephant was worth the watch. Our kids will always remember that moment, as will we.
Ending Our Time
We dried off, packed up and returned to our transport, but not before one last wave, one last glance, and one last moment to take in our time spent with this herd of elephants. The kids wanted one last pet and one last feed, but it was time to go. They tried to convince us to adopt the hundreds of adoptable dogs and cats, we pushed them along and into the van for our drive back to the hotel. Our day felt short even though it was long. Our memories will be forever.
Learn More
Want to read more about what a typical day at the Elephant Nature Park looks like, read HERE. A wonderful review written by Adventure Abroad Awaits
Learn about more about ethical treatment and elephant sanctuaries by reading Wanderlust Wookies post on Elephant care.
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Wow! What an amazing experience! They look amazing in the video. I’ve never been at a zoo before, but after this, I will definitely go and take my children so we can experience how beautiful nature is.
It wasn’t a zoo, but a nature reserve for injured and those used for the tourist industry. It was amazing though.
That’s pretty cool! I had never thought about hanging with the elephants. I think I will add that to my bucket list looks like it would be a great memory.
Fabulous memories!
Elephants are some of my most favorite creatures…I would so love to get close to them, and touch them. Loved your post! I will have to pin it for future reference…especially since I will be in Thailand next summer!
Thailand is awesome and if you go, the elephant nature park was amazing (they won’t let you ride for obvious reasons). They were kind and informative and we will always remember.
Sounds great! I would never consider riding an elephant…I don’t even feel good about riding a horse! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for all the great info! Such incredible creatures…I just love them! 🙂
They really are
How awesome! They are beautiful animals and I could stand and stare in wonder at them all day long. How fun that you guys got to experience them up close and personal.
We did love it.
Oh my goodness I love elephants! This is great! Awesome pictures, too.
Thank you!
This is a great idea! I love elephants and hanging with them would make for a wonderful experience!
This looks like so much fun! I’d love to do this some day. BUCKET LIST!
Must do bucket list!
Thailand (especially for seeing the elephants) has been at the top of my list of trips I want to take but just haven’t planned yet. I absolutely love elephants. Post like these just makes me want to go even worse!
It was a unique and awesome experience. I’m so happy we went. Not cheap to get to, but once there, it is very affordable.
We are a family of animal lovers, so we would love this experience! Especially knowing the animals are well cared for.
They are and it is truly unique and awesome.
I love reading about an elephant sanctuary that treats them humanly. I am adding this to my list for when my daughter and I go! Thank you!
You will love it! hope you get there.
Loved reading this & was so relieved it wasn’t going to be about riding elephants. They are such beautiful elephants & I hate exploitation of animals. Sounds like you had an amazing day!!
No riding in our family (just kids trying to ride the family dog)! Yes it was a lovely day and we are truly grateful for it.
Wow! That’s looked like such an amazing experience.
Spending the day with elephants is really a wonderful activity which makes the person quite happy. I never visited Thailand but yes, Once I visited Kerala, India and there I experienced it. Making them bath, and feeding and painting them are one of the most beautiful feeling which i experienced. Sometimes they are naughty and sometimes really angry.
They are magnificent animals
I love elephants, the majestic, gentle, sweet creatures they are! I’m sure I would cherish this experience. 🙂
Lifelong memories for sure 🙂 We didn’t see elephants in Thailand but did spend time with them in South Africa – much like you, we got to feed them and walk with them. Didn’t get to wash them though! I’m sure that would be tons of fun 🙂
This is one of the top attractions in Chaing Mai. Seems kids are having real fun with elephants. It’s truly an awesome experience to be able to take care of animals through your trip.
Thailand is amazing. Glad that you guys had this wonderful experience. We missed this elephant park and we would definitely cover this the next time.
Looks like you had a wonderful time with the elephants here. To be honest, in the past I heard some bad reviews of similar parks in South East Asia. Seems under the covers they were treating the animals badly, so, I don’t know how to tell the authentic ones from such places. I hope the elephants here are well taken care of
This organization was very ethical, no riding and they only had one or two elephants that were tolerant enough to be pet, but the guides had to show you the right way to do it. Other than that, it was mostly observation with some feeding fruit.
Elephants are such gentle giants. It is nice to see some of the elephant sanctuaries doing a nice job of taking care of elephants. This one seems really genuine and taking good care of the animals. Of course, there are others which are not very ethical and elephants are traumatized. Nice to see you and the kids get to interact so closely with the elephants.
Spending a day so closely with elephants must be amazing. I did this while in Sri Lanka, but never knew of Chiang Mai. I would definitely go for this lovely tour and encounter with those big elephants.
Amazing!! I love elephants <3 They are my spirit animal and unfortunately I disapprove of riding elephants based on how they are trained to do so but one day, if I can find an ethically trained place that has elephants to ride, I'd love to try it out!
You are so lucky, I enjoyed reading your adventure!
–Alekkz