Elephant Nature Park A place where people and elephants shared a smile

See a sweet smile and cuteness of a large herd elephant that lives in harmony with nature in the “Elephant Nature Park”, Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai Province. You will get a better chance at getting closer to the elephants and also being able to participate in activities that concern for Thai elephant conservation.

More than 30 elephants, from the very young to the very old elephant that live in this center, all of them went through sad life stories whether abandoned or abused before coming to a new life at Elephant Nature Park, allowing them to live freely inside the forest park of Mae Taeng District which is about 1 hour from Chiang Mai city travelled by car.

Elephant Nature Park has been selected to be in 1 of the 10 best animal care in the world based on the ranking by the famous environment and conservation magazine that has readers from all over the world like Global Citizen. This elephant care center has a policy of focusing on having elephants live in harmony with nature. There are an elephant care team and staff within the center always working closely with elephants and volunteers whose goal is to help elephants supporting in a variety of ways. Also the Elephant Aid Foundation, a non-profit organization established on behalf of Asian elephant rights in Thailand plays an important role here. The foundation aims to spread understanding of the condition of Asian elephants that are in risk, establish local education in the field of humanitarian treatment to elephants and provide shelter to elephants at the Elephant Nature Park.

over the world pouring in here every week. Elephants here live freely with no chain, hook or people sitting on their back. They are free to go anywhere, free to choose a family group on their own and free to choose whether to interact with people or not. However, elephants here are friendly and familiar with people because they were taken care of by the team and volunteers from both Thailand and foreign countries.

At Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng District, instead of sitting on the back of an elephant (There is no service to sit on the elephant here), you will be able to walk alongside elephants closely, seeing their everyday behaviors such as eating, playing around, rubbing the body with a tree, bathing in the river or interacting with each other in the natural ways.

In addition to watching elephants, there are more activities for visitors such as visiting the educational area around the forest. In every rainy season there will be an activity of growing trees. Because there are fewer trees due to deforestation, elephants are not able to find enough food on their own considering that one elephant can eat up to 200 kilograms of leaves and fruits per day. The result of deforestation caused insufficient food in the forest to support the natural life of elephants. For this reason, elephants care volunteers will join in the mission to plant trees for elephants along with a specialist. Volunteers will be able to enjoy trekking in the forest, staying overnight in the camp, lighting a campfire and observing behavior of the elephants at night.

If you want to experience the natural life of elephants closely under eco-tourism concept, this Elephant Nature Park is for you.

Travel: From Chiang Mai city, head to Mae Taeng District on Highway No. 107, which is only 40 kilometers from Chiang Mai city. It takes about 1 hour to get there.

Open: Every day from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Location: Elephant Nature Park, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province

Contact: 053 272 855