Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai

Visiting Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai was top of my travel bucket list (and, let’s be honest, life bucket list) from the moment I heard about it. Just the thought of coming face to face with the rescued elephants as they went about their daily elephant lives, unchained, unhindered and happily plodding along with their elephant business was wonderful to me. Little did I know that actually getting to live out that dream by spending not one, but two magical days at the elephant sanctuary last month would be even more incredible than I ever could have imagined. 

Nestled amongst the greenery of Northern Thailand, Elephant Nature Park is a genuine slice of elephant heaven. In a country where animal tourism is rampant and an estimated 4,000 elephants are held captive, Elephant Nature Park rescues and rehabilitates elephants from logging camps and trekking camps where conditions are often horrendous. Don’t let the brightly coloured posters you see plastered all over Thailand fool you; elephant riding is an incredibly cruel practice.

Luckily, Elephant Nature Park is doing fantastic work, not only by rescuing endangered and abused elephants, but by exposing the cruelty to unsuspecting tourists and educating locals about elephant-friendly ecotourism.

Elephant Nature Park offers single day trips as well as overnight stays. I opted for the overnight stay because why spend one day frolicking with elephants when you could spend two?

When we first arrived at the park, I barely knew what to do with myself. Nothing can mentally prepare you for seeing elephants roaming around completely at their leisure within just a few feet of you. It was absolutely beautiful (and perhaps a little terrifying to start with). We headed down the steps of the pavilion and suddenly, with no glass or fences between us, we were surrounded by elephants.

We spent the first day getting to know the elephants. Our guide led us around the park, pointing out the different elephants and telling us all about them. It was lovely to hear about their different personalities and quirks and we got to experience some of them first hand.

“This baby is trouble.” Our guide said with a smile. Sure enough, a few minutes later the baby elephant was bounding over to us at speed. She just wanted to play, but, as adorable as she was, one nudge from her could have broken a few ribs. She clearly didn’t realise quite how big she was.

While getting to know the elephants was a highlight of the trip, it was also extremely sad. Hearing about what they’d been through at the hands of former owners made me cry…a lot. Some of the elephants had been blinded by heartless trainers, some had disfigured ears or deep scars from beatings. One of the elephants had stepped on a landmine and her foot had been all but blown off. Most of them had suffered mentally as well as physically at the hands of their abusers and there were some unfortunate elephants who were kept apart from the others. They were so traumatised by the relentless suffering they’d endured that they couldn’t even bear to be around other elephants.

Listening to the heartbreaking stories was bittersweet. As awful as it is to think about what those elephants have been through (and what many more are still enduring now), it was wonderful to know they could live out the rest of their lives in peace. They’d made little makeshift families for themselves and, watching them play or nudge one another with their trunks, it was obvious they were blissfully happy now.

Before I knew it it was time for lunch. All the food served at Elephant Nature Park is vegan and absolutely delicious. I piled my plate high…three times. Dinner was just as tasty and we were treated to a show from some local children as we chowed down on the enormous selection of wonderful things to eat.

The second day was more intimate because, as overnight guests, we had the entire park to ourselves all morning. At one point we hopped on the food truck to save walking to the other side of the park. One hungry baby came galloping up behind us, thrusting her little trunk into the basket of bananas on the back of the trunk. Who knew elephants could run so fast?

That afternoon we went down to the river to feed the elephants huge mouthfuls of bananas. For the older elephants who’d lost their teeth we made special rice balls that they could mash with their gums. Despite their difficult starts in life, the elephants at elephant nature park are so well taken care of that some of them are over 90 years old!

This amazing elephant sanctuary is the work of Lek Chailert who has dedicated her life to protecting Asian elephants and giving as many of them as she possibly can a chance at a safe and happy life. Just as we were finishing up our second day at the sanctuary, we came face to face with her as she carried out some work in the park. Despite being heralded as a hero and having her face plastered across all manner of magazines, news articles and documentaries, she smiled humbly when I stuttered out the words, “Thank you so much for doing all this. It’s amazing.” I was totally starstruck. In fact, I could barely string my words together.

All too soon it was time to leave Elephant Nature Park and, since I didn’t think I could feasibly hide under the pavilion forever, I reluctantly headed back to the bus. I spent the bus ride back to Chiang Mai replaying every moment of the visit in my mind and wishing I could go back and relive it all over again.

In a world where unthinkable cruelty is inflicted on animals in the name of tourism, places like Elephant Nature Park are invaluable. Genuine sanctuaries offer animal lovers an opportunity to experience the presence of their favourite animal without doing them any harm and while supporting an excellent cause. With Elephant Nature Park spreading awareness about the dangers of animal tourism throughout Thailand, let’s hope that in the future all animal experiences can be as selfless and wholesome as they are at Elephant Nature Park.

If you’re planning an elephant encounter in Southeast Asia, please make sure it’s ethical by choosing one of the experiences offered by the Save Elephant Foundation.

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