I feel like even before I officially decided to head over to Thailand everyone was asking me the same question: “are you going to ride an elephant?” I immediately said, “obviously,” but this was before I actually did any research about the subject.
Elephant riding in Thailand is super common, but unfortunately there are many places that don’t treat the animals fairly. They drug them, make them walk around with way too much weight on their backs and they are just generally often mistreated. Apparently the best way to ride an elephant is bareback.
This being said, I was lucky enough to visit the Thai Elephant Conservation Center during my orientation with OEG for teaching English in Thailand. We headed to Lampang, where the center is located, from Chiang Mai. It took us about an hour to get there.
The Thai Elephant Conservation Center was founded over twenty years ago and is under royal patronage. It is the only government-owned elephant camp in Thailand and because of this, it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to hang out with some elephants for the afternoon.
The day trip consists of watching the elephants bathe, a show and a visit with the adorable baby elephants. You can pose for a photo with them, feed them and more. If you don’t feel that just one day is enough time to spend with the beautiful creatures, opt in for the Homestay. Choose from a one day, two day or three day option and take care of your own elephant for the weekend. If you’re looking for more adventure, opt for the trekking package.
We had a short visit, enough time to feed the elephants, take photos of them, watch them bathe and visit the animal hospital. I’d really love to head back there and participate in one of the homestay programs!
