Is there something more coming to your mind when you think of Thailand than tropical beaches, friendly smiling people and the turquoise water of the sea? I guess there’s a big chance that you think of elephants now, right? Do you also dream of getting to know the beautiful giants in person?

You might not know it but in Thailand are about 4000 of overall 5000 elephants kept in captivity. Many places keep them unethical, misstreat the animals and offer elephant riding. What can you do to prevent this?

Make A Change

Help to make a change and don’t support this places! You can make a big difference by choosing the right place to go, where the elephants don’t have to suffer. Every single person counts when taking care for our world and the living beings we share it with. We have the capability and responsibility to value and protect the beauty that surrounds us.

The good news – there are constantly more people aware to make a conscious choice and go to elephant sanctuaries that actually care for the welfare of these beautiful creatures.

Personal Experience

A sanctuary I’ve been visiting personally is called “Elephant Jungle Sanctuary” in Chiang Mai. It’s an ethical and sustainable eco-tourism project which was founded in July 2014 and is located about 2 hours outside of Chiang Mai.

I was attaining the half day program, where you’ll first feed the elephants with bananas and get a lot of informations about the gentle giants in general. After making friends with them you will go together to a river close by and take a mud bath.

Actually the visitors where more muddy afterwards than the elephants but no worries you get a refreshment in the river later on. And of course there are some showers too. Good to know is that the elephants are not urged to do the mud bath. If they don’t want to it they don’t have. Later on there is a tasty lunch included to nourish you after all the excitement, before the ride goes back to Chiang Mai.

The price for the half day tour is about 50USD. More informations can be found on their website.

Recommendations

Other places referred to as being ethical and sustainable are:

• Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary
• Elephant Nature Park
• The Surin Project

Thank you for reading! I wish you an unforgettable adventure in Thailand.

We all can make little changes in the way people think and act if we are taking more awareness of our own actions and what we put out in the world, towards what we give our energy and by thinking outside of the box. ❤️