Elephant Discovery Chiang Mai

On Saturday I crossed something major off of my bucket list. I headed to Chiang Mai, hopped into a 4×4 truck and headed into the mountains to spend some time with the Karen Hill Tribe and a beautiful family of elephants. I could not speak enough praise for Elephant Discovery Chaing Mai. I did so much research to find a humane elephant experience and I was more than satisfied with this one. The day was truly magical and it started right from the beginning, when we were picked up from our hostel promptly at 7:45 AM.

Paw, the tour guide, who was perhaps the funniest and friendliest tour leader I have met thus far in Thailand, picked us up along with two other guest from a different hotel. We squeezed into the car (not the most comfortable set up, but I’ve been in worse situations regarding transportation) and we headed off deep into the mountains (for about two and a half hours). I say deep into the mountains because at one point we were literally off-roading. If you get motion sick really easily, I suggest taking a lot of dramamine… A bit of car sickness was totally worth what would come next!

We arrived to several elephants wandering around the roads, eating their breakfast. I was in awe of how large the elephants were up close. There was even a four month old baby, who was still so small! We hung out with the elephants for a few minutes before we sat down to learn about Elephant Discovery Chiang Mai, the Karen Hill Tribe and the family of elephants that they have.

Paw and his family have rescued several elephants from working in Chiang Mai by breaking the contracts with the companies that they work for. The city is no place for an elephant, as the asphalt is too hot for their feet, they are chained up at night which forces them to become sleep deprived, they aren’t fed enough and they don’t get nearly enough clean water that they need.

Did you know that an elephant eats for 16 hours a day? Or that they sleep laying down? Did you know that they can die in three days from constipation brought on from dehydration? These were all things that I was not aware of and it was interesting to learn more about elephants.

Because of all of this, Paw and the mohut (elephant trainers), believe that the elephants need to have the space and care to really thrive. They don’t chain or tie them up at night (the mohuts sleep with them in the woods!), they don’t use hooks, and they have several feedings for them throughout the day on top of the brush that surrounds the area they hang out during the day. It is also right next to a stream.

Elephant Discovery Chiang Mai runs only one tour a day, so that they aren’t overworked like they usually would be in the city. Only two people are allowed to ride one elephant (with a certain weight restriction) and you ride them bareback.

After we learned about the elephants, we changed into our traditional mohut clothing and began to feed them. When we were finished, we headed down to the stream and bathed them. We were told the proper way to clean them, which way to brush them and where to clean them. It was so fun, there was a lot of splashing going on from the younger elephants! They really do love to blow water out of their trunks!!!

Next, we were taught how to properly climb up on top of them and where to sit in order to provide the elephants with the most comfort. Then we took about a half hour walk through the stream to a creek where we would eat lunch.

Lunch was fried chicken, sticky rice, and lots and lots of delicious fruit (water is also included)! It was wonderful — and perhaps the best part of the tour, was that we shared it with only a handful of other people (there were only 9 people in our group!).

When we finished eating we headed down into the stream to swim with the elephants and snap some photos… There is a photographer who documents the entire day for you and gives you a CD at the end of the tour (included in price!).

It was so much fun in the water…We took turns being lifted up by the elephant and then each group got a photo on top of the elephant…. And I fell off…. No joke, slipped and fell right into the creek. An elephant is tall, so it was from pretty high up, but no worries, I thought it was pretty funny!

What I really liked about this portion of the tour was that the mohut listened to the elephant. When she was over having people climbing on her to take photos she let everyone know and we stopped. They did not force the elephant into doing anything! It was really refreshing to see this, as in certain places this would not be the case.

I know that elephant tours throughout the world are extremely controversial, and I knew I wanted to spend a day up close with elephants, so after extensive research I decided on Elephant Discovery Chiang Mai and I’m so glad that I did. The people who run the tours are the kindest locals. You can tell that they really care for their elephants, that they are apart of their families. I would recommend this tour 1000 times.

The tour costs 2400 baht each for two people to share an elephant, and 4500 baht if you want your own elephant.