Elephant Nature Park
Chiang Mai, Thailand

9 months ago, after a lot of research, Christian and I booked a full day volunteer experience with the elephant highlands program by @elephantnaturepark, and boy am I sure glad we did. It has been my favorite day of the trip so far. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience (though I hope it’s not!). The mission of Elephant Nature Park is to provide a sanctuary for endangered animals, large and small, as well as contributing to their welfare and development: An incredible cause I couldn’t be happier to support! The three female elephants I had the privilege of getting to know, Kham Pang, Mae Pon, and Nong Pop, were rescued from the tourism and logging industries, but despite their difficult pasts seemed so happy and definitely well taken care of.

If visiting Thailand in the future, please please do your research before scheduling a day with the elephants, or any animal for that matter! As a tourist, you vote with your dollar. Make sure the company you choose treats the animals with respect and kindness. In order to ride elephants, they have to train them as babies using painful hooks and food deprivation. Also, some places only allow the elephants to roam around when they are being ridden and are left chained up the rest of the day.

This doesn’t only apply to elephants. Think it’s natural for a tiger to let hundreds of strangers pet it? Probably not! They use a lot of drugs to sedate these animals in order for tourists to take pictures with them. Some experiences are just not worth the harm they cause. Just something to think about for future travels!