Trunk-loads of Fun: My Visit to an Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai

Last Updated on April 7, 2024 by Adam Watts

There are some things in life that are universally liked by everyone. Sunsets, unconditional love, fart jokes. Those are the big three. And elephants. I had the extreme pleasure of visiting an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Here’s what happened.

Preparing for the Visit

If you’re planning a visit to Chiang Mai, you have to visit an elephant sanctuary, and there are so many of them to choose from that you’re more likely to find one by accident than not find one at all. But please, please, please make sure you do some research first. Don’t just choose the cheapest one you saw recommended in a pamphlet in your hostel/hotel, because elephant sanctuaries in Thailand are like politicans anywhere in the world. Some of them are good, honest, and ethical, but the majority are just exploitative, unethical, and want you to ride them.

The elephants I mean. Anyway, moving on.

I highly recommend Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, which has locations in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and Pattaya. It’s well-reviewed on Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook and by me, right now.

Depending on your preferred location, they offer activities to suit your itinerary: morning visit, afternoon visit, full-day visit, and overnight visit.

You can book with Klook here.

Feeding the Elephants

Before any of the activities commenced, there was a safety briefing, which went like this:

“Elephants are big. Stay in front or to the side of them. Not behind them. You can touch them on their cheek, top of leg, head, trunk, but never their bum. Not their bum. HAHAHA. Like me they don’t like when someone touches their bum HAHAHA. You have to earn the right to touch the bum. HAHAHAHAHA.”

Everyone laughed because of course they did. Bum jokes are funny. But then it took a dark turn.

“Remember, most important not to stand behind them and not to touch their bum. HAHAHA. There was a kid here recently, ten years old, who stood behind elephant and touched his bum. Elephant kicked him in the face. HAHAHA.”

Less people laughed. I laughed, I thought it was hilarious and obviously the kid was fine otherwise he wouldn’t be laughing about it. Right?

“I told him not to touch their bum, but he did and he went to hospital! HAHAHAHA.”

A few people chuckled nervously and I heard whispers of, “Is he on something?” Either cocaine, or a really twisted sense of humour.

There were similar warnings about how to feed the elephants. Don’t hold food flat in your hand because the elephant might eat your hand (HAHAHA). Don’t feed an elephant with the same hand you’re taking a selfie with because the elephant will eat your phone (HAHA) but it’s okay because twenty minutes later he will poop it out (HAHAHAHAHAHA).

Everyone was a little scared at first as to how to feed bananas to these amazing creatures but despite their size they’re very gentle. You can hold a banana close to them and they’ll take it with their trunk, or you can loudly say “BONBON” and the elephant will open its mouth for you to put the banana in (“just don’t put your whole hand in HAHAHA”).

Cleaning the Elephants

The majority of the time at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary was spent in the bathing routine. We changed into our swimsuits and followed the guide.

There are, at time of writing, 4 elephants at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, Chiang Mai:

First up, Grandma. That’s her name. 75 years old, slow even by elephant standards, and has whatever the elephant equivalent of arthritis is (update: it’s just arthritis), because she couldn’t walk down the slope to bathe in the river. So we bathed her standing upright, throwing buckets of water over her and brushing her with long-handled brooms, all while she’s happily munching another entire tub of bananas. What a life.

Naughty Boy. Again, that’s a name as well as a description. 7 years old and full of youthful energy like your annoying nephew. He headbutted and generally bothered his mum like the mosquitoes buzzing around our heads, and when it came to bathing time he charged down the slope to the stream, flopped himself on his side in the water and started waving his trunk in the air like, “yeah suckers, get down here and wash me and feed me more ‘nanas.”

And here’s him playing by himself with a piece of netting. So freaking adorable. I love elephants.

There were also two other elephants, Naughty Boy’s Mum (age 30-something) and Another One (17), but I’ll be honest, I’ve forgotten their names. They were all lovely and we fed and washed all of them.

Washing the elephants was a little nerve-wracking at first. These giant creatures were laying down in the water, they could easily have injured someone if they’d made any sudden moves, or if one of us accidentally touched a bum (HAHAHA).

But after a few minutes the nerves dissipated and it became almost therapeutic to toss water over these gentle giants and even cuddle with them. Then the guide decided everyone was far too boring and started splashing everyone with as much water as he possibly could. “WATERFIGHT HAHAHAHAHA.”

Dirtying the Elephants

After the elephants were all clean, it was time for the final activity of the day: the mud bath.

It seems counterintuitive, and I know that if I told my mum as a child that after my shower I was going to go roll in the mud, bad things would’ve happened. But for elephants, mud acts as a barrier on their skin against the sun and insect bites, so after being washed it’s right into the mud bath for you, mister, whether you like it or not.

I have no problem getting muddy. Especially on vacation, sure, I’ll do whatever seems fun, anything I don’t get the opportunity to do at home. (See: being inches away from death in Bolivia and hiking a volcano in the most dangerous country in the world.)

What gave me pause, though, was the sight of a big stagnant pool of muddy water, covered in flies and insects, in the middle of a tropical country in thirty-plus degree heat. Surely this causes dengue fever. Surely. Probably this spot right here is the cause of all dengue in the world. Even looking at it made me feel queasy.

“We put salt in it, it’s okay HAHAHA,” said the guide when someone questioned the sanitary conditions, then promptly charged in after the elephants and smeared himself with mud.

Well if they put salt in it, it must be alright, said no one. But this was vacation, and what’s a good vacation without the high chance of tropical disease, and so we all got muddy and had a fun time smearing mud on ourselves and elephants.

Final Thoughts on the Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai

As the mud bath ended and we went to shower, I felt a sense of sadness. Also heat exhaustion, thirst, and all the early symptoms of dengue fever, but mostly sadness.

Elephants are as amazing as any six year old believes them to be. It was easy to imagine myself giving up my day job, moving here and spending all day every day with these beautiful creatures. And maybe, just maybe, they’d eventually let me touch their bum.

HAHAHAHA.

Extra Stuff

• If you’re looking for more things to do in Chiang Mai, check out Viator’s tours. I recommend the hiking and mountain biking combo if you’re up for something super active
• To learn more about Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, visit their website here

For more adventures involving animals, check out:

• Three Gruesome Months Living with Cockroaches in the Amazon
• What Happened When I Went Snorkeling with Sharks in Belize with People Who Can’t Swim
• Cuteness Alert! Here’s What Happened When We Spent Time with Snow Monkeys in Nagano, Japan
• 5 Simple Stages of a Cockfight in Manila