Which Elephant Center In Chiang Mai Area?

[Johpa]

What i do hate to see is elephants chained to a stake. Elephants almost rival humans in intelegence and they are very communal. Chaining one to a stake is inhuman and cruel. My heart goes out to them standing there swinging their trunk back and forth in boredom.

A fully tusked male is much safer chained to a stake then allowed to forage free in the hills. Alas, when in the presence of tourists the elephants must be staked when not attended by the mahut.

There is no elegant solution to the elephant population. The human population in the region had grown, as has the expansion of agriculture in the highlands. And the demand for working elephants in the logging industry continues to decline. The two populations, human and elephant, are not naturally compatible. All the elephant camps provide sanctuary to their resident pachyderm population. All the major elephant camps, from Lampang to Mae Sa to Mae Tang and beyond now provide good care and share a common vision. And if it takes a few adolescent elephants blowing harmonicas or playing fake soccer or painting flowers to provide the revenue for the dozens of mature breeders to prosper then so be it. It is no more unnatural than moving logs.

[Goshawk]

One poster mentioned seeing elephants in the wild. Well, good luck with that although not impossible. Since 1995 we have been camping in Khao Yai NP 4 or 5 times a year and we have seen wild elephants only three times.

that'll be me then...

Khao Yai has over 200 wild elephants roaming within its bounderies.. you have been extremely unlucky to see only 3 in 15 years

But then again, you have to trek deep into the forest and know how to track them if you want to have a chance of seeing them on every visit.. if you're just relying on the night spotter jeep tours or hanging around by a 'salt lick' in the hopes that one passes by, then i'm not surprised you've hardly ever seen them.. they're shy & quite secretive..

i've lost count of the times i've encountered them while negotiating some of the more obscure jungle trails & its a magical feeling everytime it happens..

Edited October 25, 2010 by Goshawk

[IanForbes]

i've lost count of the times i've encountered them while negotiating some of the more obscure jungle trails & its a magical feeling everytime it happens..

Same feeling I get when running into grizzly bears in British Columbia or King cobras in Thailand... magical.

[malamala]

thank you veyr much for your suggestions and opinions

[Buang]

Chiang Dao or Lampang are the way to go. Hope you enjoy.

[sarahsbloke]

I quite like the rides and silly tricks.

On the road from San Patong to Doi Inthanon there is a whole bunch of Elephant camps.

I am happy to go anywhere if I can haggle them down to 250bht per elephant for 30 mins of riding.

They will pretty much all do rides for 350bht for a 30 minute ride, but I do like to have my own elephant.

(PS. never try to haggle when a tourist bus is parked up, they won't haggle then)

I also enjoy feeding the elephants that walk past the bars in the evenings, 20 bht well spent.

If anyone wants to push their own favourite elephant centre, why not share the price you pay.

Or must we all be forever forced to endure the 'how much will this daft tourist pay' scam.

Edited October 31, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[T_Dog]

thank you veyr much for your suggestions and opinions

So did you end up going? Which one and what was your experience? Thought about this thread as I was motorcycling yesterday and had to avoid a chang hazard.

[vacationman]

We love visiting the Elephants at many Parks here in Northern Thailand. We often go to Mae Sai Elephant Camp due to the Location... at the end of the Samong Loop Ride and the Price only 120 baht. What we enjoy most is NOT the Show with all the tricks and stuff but walking around the property where the Nursury Area and Washing Areas are located. You can sit for hours and watch and observe on YOUR TIME Schedule.

Up until a few days ago one of my favorite places was the Elephant Nature Park. The surrounding are wonderful and you get to spend a day watching, feeding and bathing the Elephants.

HOWEVER, our FAVORITE Place after our experience this week with My Daughter and her Husband is: Baan Chang Elephant Park.

We had a wonderful relaxing day with a LOT of close contact with the Elephants. Close up feeding, learn how to get on and off the Elephants, learn Voice Commands for guiding - Left - Right - Go Straight and most important STOP. Wonderful Lunch and then a TWO Hour Ride on your Elephant riding Bareback. When you return from the ride it's time to give your Elephant a BATH.

Our Instructor for the day was the Owner Tom (BOMB) and he did a wonderful Job.

You can check out there Website at http:www.BaanChangElephantPark.com or see what others are saying on Trip Advisor at - http://www.tinyurl.com/baanchang

Hope you enjoy the day as much as we did.

Tell BOMB we said hello when you see him.

[RichT]

I also enjoy feeding the elephants that walk past the bars in the evenings, 20 bht well spent.

Yeah, I particularly enjoy the regular injuries and killings through collisions with cars, the separation of infants from their mothers, the drugging with amphetamines to help produce those adorable antics and the widespread use of the spike hammer. Great fun!

(source: United Nations amongst many others, e.g. http://www.fao.org/d...1e/ad031e0r.htm but just google for 30 seconds and you can't fail to turn up a boatload of sources.)