Chiang Mai has plenty of elephant sanctuaries, which I counted well over 20 in the area. In the past and even today, elephants were trained with the use of hooks to break them in or hit them elephants to work mainly in the lumber industry.
And as Chiang Mai grew as a tourist spot, tours offered and still offer elephant riding which involves a cruel process of breaking in baby elephants so tourists can ride them when they become adults.
Now that the elephants have retired or have been rescued are given a better life in the elephant sanctuaries in the northern region of Thailand. There are a lot of elephant sanctuaries in Northern Thailand, especially around the Chiang Mai area.
Unfortunately, not all camps are equal and some research is required to narrow down the best elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai.
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What Makes An Elephant Sanctuary?
Elephant sanctuaries is a place where the elephants have a home where they have the freedom to move around freely with plenty of room to do so in their normal habitat.
And that the elephants are safe, cared for, and receive medical care when needed.
Best Elephant Sanctuaries In Chiang Mai
There are a lot of elephant sanctuaries around Chiang Mai, their problem is finding the ones that look after the elephants properly and not just saying they do. You need to check the current reviews online as how the elephants are treated can change.
Here are some of the best elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai.
Elephant Nature Park
Elephant Nature Park is an elephant rescue and rehabilitation center in Northern Thailand, around 60 km from Chiang Mai. And is properly the most popular.
It is not only elephants that help, they also help dogs, buffaloes, and many other animals that add to the natural environment.
This sanctuary provides the elephants with a safe natural habitat where they are free to roam the vast forest and play in the river.
The tours allow you to feed them, bathe with them, and learn about elephants. And there is an overnight package.
You can read more about Elephant Nature Park from their website here.
Into The Wild Elephant Camp
Into The Wild Elephant Camp is an elephant sanctuary and education center in Northern Thailand. At the sanctuary, the elephants are free to do what they want to which is mostly roam the vast forest and play in the river.
This sanctuary takes in elephants who are no longer able to work in retirement. The elephants are treated as part of the staff’s extended family.
They want to ensure the elephants live a happy life after working so hard for so many years of their lives.
This sanctuary works for the well-being of the elephants and for the local Karen community. They believe in giving back to the community by employing locals and supplying them with clothing.
You can read more about Elephant Nature Park from their Facebook page here.
Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary & Trekking
The Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary & Trekking rescues elephants that have been forced to work in the high-density population and traffic area. This can make elephants stressed and frightened.
The Sanctuary returns the elephants back to their natural habitat and provides a safe place for the elephants to live out their lives peacefully.
The tours, not only help support Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary & Trekking but also gives you an opportunity to feed them, bathe with them, and learn about elephants. And there is a 2-day package that involves trekking.
You can read more about Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary & Trekking from their website here.
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary
The Maerim Elephant Sanctuary helps and resumes badly treated elephants and provides them with a beautiful environment where they are safe, loved, and cared for.
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary is 100% against elephant riding, elephants’ performance tricks, and any methods of training where pain is inflicted.
We believe that by sharing our passion with our guests we can all contribute towards providing rescued elephants the beautiful life which they deserve.
Taking a tour, not only helps support Maerim Elephant Sanctuary but also gives you an opportunity to feed them, bathe with them, and learn about elephants.
You can read more about Maerim Elephant Sanctuary from their website here.
Happy Elephant Home
At the Happy Elephant Home in Chiang Mai, they help and rescue mistreated elephants and then provide a natural habitat for the elephants to move around freely.
You will see the elephants not only moving around freely but also going for a swim and taking a mud bath.
Taking a tour helps support Happy Elephant Home to continue helping the elephants but also gives you an opportunity to feed them, bathe with them, and learn about elephants.
You can read more about Happy Elephant Home from their website here.
Encourage Responsible Tourism
A lot of elephants in northern Thailand can go through a very cruel process of intensive conditioning to obey their masters and allow people to ride them. This process starts when the elephant is a baby.
Over the last decade, tourists have become aware and concerned about the cruel process elephants go through to allow people to ride them.
As a result, has created a positive demand for elephant sanctuaries to be created where the elephants are safe and are free to wander around.
This created a more sustainable tourist where tourists can learn about the elephants and join the elephants in swimming with them in the river or mud baths and feeding them.
What To Pack And Pack?
Chiang Mai is generally hot and humid, so you should wear comfortable clothing such as cotton short-sleeved shirts and shorts.
Wear a pair of shoes that are comfortable for walking and ones that you don’t get wet if you go for a swim and bathe with the elephants.
Don’t forget to pack an extra pair of dry clothes to change into before riding back to your hotel. A small zip-lock bag, a bottle of sun cream, and mosquito repellent are also useful to have.
USEFUL TRAVEL RESOURCES
Book Accommodation
Booking.com has a large range of properties from hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and resorts where you will find the best deals. Airbnb and Hostelworld also have a good range of places to stay at good prices.
Booking Flight
Skyscanner is a flight search comparison website that searches millions of flights all at once. Ultimately it is the best flight comparison website online at the moment.
Booking Transportation & Things To Do
Rome2rio and 12Go are useful to plan how to get anywhere by searching train, bus, car, and ferry routes. Especially useful in countries like Vietnam or Thailand. While Klook is great for exploring things to do in each place.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is cheap and more than likely you will never need to use it but you will have peace of mind if something does happen, you are covered in case of an emergency. World Nomads have great customer service and competitive prices.
Check out our resource page for the best companies to use when you travel.
Wrapping Up
Finally, a trip to Chiang Mai is not complete until you visit an elephant sanctuary. This provides visitors with an amazing opportunity to meet elephants and to interact with them. There are a lot of Sanctuaries in Chiang Mai and you will need to do a little research before deciding on which sanctuary you are going to visit.
And that’s it for now! I’d love to know if this guide on the best elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai has helped you. Let me know if you have any questions and let me know if there are other sanctuaries to add.
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