The Elephant Rescue Park is an ethical sanctuary that rescues elephants from places like circuses, logging industry, mistreatment camps. They are a group of passionate people committed to offering those elephants a happy life in a secure and natural environment.

The park in located in Chiang Mai and it is one of the best attractions for both adults and children.

By visiting the park, you will also support their mission and have the opportunity to have 1-1 interactions with the elephants, feed, and bathe them.

We spent an entire day with them, and it was one of the most memorable travel experiences.

Here’s how the day went:

As you noticed in the video, we had so much fun spending an entire day with the elephants, and more importantly, we managed to learn so much.

Fun Elephant facts I learned while visiting an elephant sanctuary

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Here are some fun facts I want to share with you:

• Elephants can live up to 70 years, just like a human being.
• African and Asian elephants are two different species of elephants. Motty was the only hybrid between an Asian and an African elephant and died in the Chester Zoo, Cheshire, ten days after being born.
• According to our guide, there are 7.000 elephants in Thailand, 3.000 wild elephants, and 4.000 domestic elephants.
• All domestic elephants need to have birth certificates.
• Elephants have the most extended gestation period of all mammals, two years of pregnancy.
• All elephant herds are always lead by a female elephant, known as the matriarch.
• Elephants don’t sweat from the skin; they sweat from the eye.
• Each elephant has a different personality, and we were lucky enough to spend the entire day with them and get to know them.

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If you’re planning to see the elephants, you might want to know these things before scheduling your elephant adventure:

Be careful when choosing the elephant experience:

Do some steady research before picking up the sanctuary you’re visiting. It breaks my heart to hear that people actually have elephant-riding on their bucket lists, some of them not knowing the ugly truth behind this activity.

Elephants are wild animals who are not supposed to be ridden by people, to get an elephant to allow a human to ride on its back, the baby elephants are confined in small spaces, tortured, starved, and deprived of sleep. This whole process has a name: Phajaan or “the crush.” 

Do you still think the elephant you’re riding is being taken care of? Stop lying to yourself!

Take sunscreen and mosquito repellent

You’ll be spending the whole day in the jungle, walking and bathing with the elephants. You’ll also be getting dirty, and you’re going to love it!

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You can stay overnight

Wish I knew that before booking the accommodation for an entire week in Chiang Mai. There are various two-day packages that allow you to spend the night in the jungle and be with the elephants for a longer time. 

Trust me, you’ll never want to leave!

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Rescue parks need constant support

Yes, rescue parks are so much more expensive than other elephant riding parks, and that’s because they do not exploit those elephants. Also, an elephant can spend an average of 16-18 hours of everyday eating (they eat over 300 kg of food a day). So taking proper care of an elephant is pretty costly. Please consider supporting only ethical elephant sanctuaries by visiting them or donating.

I am linking below the sanctuary we visited, and if you want to get involved with helping the elephants, please click the link below for more details: https://elephantrescuepark.com/

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