Guide to Chiang Mai Elephant Friends – unforgettable experience

Visit Nothern Thailand and not see elephants? That would be a terrible shame! We have been thinking a long time if we should go on day/half day trip to Elephant nature that are offered by different companies in Chiang Mai. Finally, Tom discovered Chiang Mai Elephant Friends and their ethical elephant tours and our choice was clear. We are going there! In this article, we will describe all activities we experienced with elephants and tell you why sleeping close to elephants is the best choice 🙂

You can find more information about Chiang Mai Elephant Friends on website Chiangmai elephant. You can check availability and make reservation here

Our first day in Chiang Mai Elephants Friends

Chiang Mai Elephant Friends is located approximately 50 km south of the city Chiang Mai. We arrived there on the motorbike (250 THB/day), but you can also get there by taxi (Grab), which is a significantly more expensive option (about 650 THB one way). The friendly staff welcomed us at the reception and took us to our deluxe bungalow. We had an amazing view of the river and the jungle, comfortable beds, and we also got traditional elephant clothing called ”Karen”.

In the afternoon came our first exploring of the surroundings. The program included a walk in jungle with two elephants and feeding them. Followed by playing with the elephants in the river and ethical care. The elephants were very nice and obedient. At the beginning Anet was afraid to approach them, but the initial shyness disappeared after a while. At first we fed them with bananas and it was unbelievable how many bananas could eat 2 elephants. They were also constantly searching for bananas and acrounge for them with  trunks 😀 Then we walked next to the elephants through the jungle and the smaller elephant managed a rebellious piece. He took water and soil into his trunk, creating mud, which then spurted on Aneta! Good thing we went to the river because Anet really needed water: D

Playing in the river with elephants was really fun. First we poured them all over the water and the elephants watered us with trunk in return. They gave us also kisses with trunks ended with a shower in the face. Elephants looked very happy in the water and seemed to enjoy it the same way we did :D.

After the bath, we all moved to our homes. We went to our bungalow and the elephants back to their herd. After this experience, we were really hungry and so we visited the local restaurant. We had a delicious Thai dinner and we drank coconut milk. There was darkness and jungle all around us, and we only heared nearby river. This was the perfect escape from the city.

Our second day in Chiang Mai Elephant Friends

Waking up in the morning with elephants? Not a problem with Chiang Mai Elephant Friends. Just after our awakening, a hungry elephant longing for bananas reached our porch. Feed him took about 15 minutes and the elephant still did not have enough! He ate a bag of bananas and then proceeded to the other bungalows, where other banana bags awaited him: D. We were amused by how inventive the elephant was, trying to pick up more bananas under the trunk before shoving them into his mouth. When we put down the bananas, he searched around with his trunk to see if we could even hide some behind us. It is really amazing creature 🙂

Our impressions of Chiang Mai Elephant Friends

This ended our stay in Elephant reserve and it was time to go back to the city and work. Owner of Chiang Mai Elephant Friends gave us a farewell gift in the form of small candies in the shape of elephant and some incensed which was a very nice gesture. Overall, this elephant reserve enthused us, owners treated the elephants nicely and ethically, don’t offering no riding on elephants! Elephant looked happy and that’s the main thing. If you want to experience something special and get to know the elephant closer, we definitely recommend this place!