Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai – A Dive into the Life of Elephants

There’s a balcony in the park as soon as you enter the sanctuary and you see these magnificent elephants walking around in there. Visitors can watch directions and movements of the elephants, be more careful not to stand in their projected path. This is the only place where you can be in a sanctuary with no glasses or gates between visitors and elephants. You can reach out and gingerly touch the elephants, and they will respond with warm nuzzles curious trunk nudges, and occasional trumpeting proclamations.

Eventually, you can take a stroll around the sanctuary to meet other elephants as each one has a distinct personality, and once they are rescued from logging and the tourist trade and brought to live out their lives in the park they tend to adopt one another and turn the entire park into small family groups and herds. The guides here have the knowledge of about every elephant and there are more than 30 elephants at this park. The park houses elephants which formerly employed for logging and trekking. There are even elephants which had previously gone through brutal punishments and some with ear piercings by their caretaker, who fill it with fresh flowers every day.

Elephant Nature Park also has baby elephants on the park grounds, that run around like puppies with tons of energy. You can watch them play an entire day as they keep running around playing with other elephants. This is admirable and you would want to sit and watch them all day! You can have a really good time in this park and wouldn’t know how soon time flies.

All visitors gather around for lunch and this park only has veg food and there’s no meat available in here. With a beautiful time with elephants in here, little would you complain about the food in here. Elephants play around in the muddy pool inside the park and visitors can watch them play with each other! The elephants then bathe themselves and play around in the water. Visitors can also be a part of this and bath the elephants. 

After lunch, visit the theatre inside where a documentary on how the park takes care of elephants is played. The documentary also features the horrible practice of poachers capturing baby elephants and enduring them to torturous training practices. The goal of the park is to break the practices of torturing the elephants. This will not let them go to confinement with cruel beatings.

The sanctuary is established by an inspirational woman, Sangduen “Lek” Chailert born in a hill tribe in Thailand. She has dedicated her life to improving the wellbeing of the Asian elephants and is one of the six Women Heroes of Global Conservation.

You can visit this elephant rehabilitation centre by taking the pick-up services from your stay in Chiang Mai but the services are confined to specific areas of Old Town. Alternatively, you can also book a car, or take a tuk-tuk or bicycle to reach the destination. For travellers with children and senior citizens renting a car would be more comfortable to reach this paradise of elephants.

The best season to visit Chiang Mai is anytime between October and April as it has the best weather conditions. Also, this period has the top highlights of Thailand in operation. The visiting time for the Elephant Nature Park is between 7:30 AM and 5:30 PM or even later. In case you are looking at a short vacation and have too many places to visit in less time then take a half-day tour of the park. Explore the sanctuary between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

The Elephant Nature Park charges a single day visit around 2500 THB, approximately INR 5900 for both adults and children. Apart from the entry fees, you will also need a deposit of about 2500 THB to secure your booking.

Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park is one best place where visitors can interact more intimately with the elephants. You can stand before them, look at them in the eyes, and feel their skin under your hand. You can never imagine how riding on their backs would be more appealing than this. Finding this guide useful? Start customising your Chiang Mai tour package online with the top highlights of Chiang Mai and enjoy a happy vacation with your family. So, don’t miss to visit the elephant park in Chiang Mai when in Thailand! Also, check some of the best Thailand holiday packages on Pickyourtrail and book your dream vacation now!