I mean…did you even go to South East Asia if you didn’t get a pic with an elephant?? I would say it’s the most quintessential activity of backpackers in this region. It’s a classic and beloved experience…and for good reason!
It’s so much fun and such an intimate opportunity that’s not available in most countries. I visited these huge friendly beasts in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s available in other Thai cities / SE Asian countries but you have to be very meticulous with which one you choose. A lot of elephant experiences include riding. If it includes riding…it is NOT ethical!! It’s really important that you choose a company that rescued their elephants from cruel circuses or other tourist riding “experiences”. These companies do not treat their elephants properly so you don’t want your money contributing to it. Make sure to do some research beforehand to ensure you are going to an elephant sanctuary and not a tourist trap.
The company I ended up going with was Chiang Mai Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Click here to be redirected to their website if you want to check them out! I was staying at Bodega Hostel in Chiang Mai and booked the tour through reception. I had met some friends at the hostel a few days before so we all booked together for a half day afternoon tour (there are also morning or full day tours available as well). It costs 1700 baht ($55) for a half day and 2400 ($76) for a full day.
The company picked us up at our hostel at 11am and crammed us into a Tuk Tuk for the 1.5 hour drive to the property. We all happened to be extremely hungover from the night before so this cramped/ bumpy/sweaty ride was a recipe for disaster. I almost puked 4? times. Thankfully I held it in and pulled trig when we arrived…like the classy lady I am (insert curtsey bow here).
The first thing we did was change out of our clothes and into these fashionable as heck lil elephant outfits. We had some time to eat freshly prepared fruit, drink water (or beer for the rest of my group), and recover from our ride. Then we got to meet the stars of the show!! The staff gave us some banana and sugarcane to feed the free-roaming elephants and take a few pics. We learned about each elephant, where they were rescued from, and what their specific care / diet was. I had no idea how much (wo)man power and money it takes to keep these elephants alive and healthy!
After our meet n greet, we all sat in a circle and made herbal medicine balls for the elephants. The staff taught us which natural ingredients to mash up and smush together to create these little balls of health. We then got to feed our creations to the elephants and walk with them to the mud baths. We changed into our bathing suits and got down n dirty with our new friends. It was quite the experience to be rubbing mud all over their coarse skin and getting soaked in the process.
After the elephants were sufficiently muddy, we walked with them to the river to get cleaned up. We poured buckets of water and splashed as hard as we could to get these enormous animals squeaky clean.
A traditional Thai lunch was waiting for us when we returned to change out of our bathing suits and back into our normal clothing. We then took the 1.5 hour tuk tuk journey through rural landscapes back to our hostel with giant smiles on our faces from a day well spent.
The tour company was taking pics of our group the whole time and offered to give us the photos for a fee (of course). We really wanted the footage so we paid the overpriced toll and those pics are a majority of the ones I included in this post! You are more than welcome to bring your own cameras but it’s difficult to have it in your hand when you’re bathing the elephants in mud/water. I had my GoPro on me so that was completely fine but I wouldn’t bring my phone if I were you.
Overall, I highly recommend getting yourself to a sanctuary and experiencing these wild beautiful animals for yourself. It was a wonderfully unique experience I will never ever forget 🙂
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