Day Trip to Baan Chang Elephant Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sawatdeekah puens! That’s Thai for ‘hello friends.’

When I was 16, I spent four weeks in Thailand with The Experiment in International Living (EIL). This global nonprofit specializes in experiential learning, which is learning through experiences (as opposed to learning exclusively in a classroom). My favorite part of EIL is how they connect students with local host families to facilitate authentic cross-cultural experiences. Learn more about The Experiment here.

During our time in Chiang Mai, my EIL group and I visited the Baan Chang Elephant Park. They call themselves a park, but they function as an elephant sanctuary. Their mission is to care for injured elephants so they can grow strong and then be released back into the wild. I recommend Baan Chang Elephant Park because they are constantly improving to be as ethical as possible. If interested, check out their website here. I’m not sponsored by them, and all opinions are my own.

Note: It’s essential to research elephant parks before you book an experience. Some companies exploit elephants for profit, even though they are endangered animals. As public awareness increases, many parks are adopting more ethical practices. Regardless, I recommend doing some research before you book your adventure.

Here’s what you can expect from a day trip to the Baan Chang elephant park:

My group was picked up from our hostel by elephant park staff and driven to the park, about 50 minutes from Chiang Mai.

As soon as we arrived, we were given clothes to change into to protect our clothes from dust and dirt. Then, we were given bamboo and bananas to feed the elephants. I was nervous at first because there are no barriers between you and the elephants. But as I watched my group members feed the elephants, I began to feel more comfortable doing so. Plus, elephants are gentle giants, and there were plenty of staff on-site to ensure everything ran smoothly.

Feeding the elephant bamboo

While feeding the elephants, we were taught that feeding an elephant one banana at a time is cruel. This is because elephants are such large animals, and one banana is like a crumb to them. It’s far more humane to give an elephant a bunch of bananas (see below). They eat them peel and all!

Feeding the elephant bananas

The park staff explained to us that elephants think people are cute because we’re small and dainty compared to them. The way we see puppies is similar to the way elephants see us. This explains why the elephants are eager to explore us up close and show affection. One way they do this is by giving ‘hugs’ and ‘kisses.’

Elephants can ‘hug’ with their trunks

Pulling me in for a kiss

Elephant kiss!

I was completely shocked and overjoyed when the elephant pulled me in for a kiss!

Also, this picture ended up in a Thai magazine!

We rode the elephants by sitting on top of them and holding on with our arms and legs. This is the most humane way to ride an elephant. Since they are such large animals, a person feels like a fly on their rough skin. Sitting in a manmade structure that is tied to the elephant with rope is the most inhumane way to ride an elephant. This harms the animal and should be avoided at all costs.

Riding the elephants – Rachel leading the herd

*Riding is no longer permitted due to ethical concerns. See the park’s statement from their website below:

“As there is concern about the welfare, quality of life and well-being of elephants around the world, especially in Thailand; We “Baanchang Elephant Park” agree to no longer offer elephant riding activity. This big move is aimed at providing our elephants with better living conditions, more independence and most importantly, better mental health.”

While it was exciting to ride the elephants, I completely stand by the park’s decision to end this practice. Guests are now welcome to walk alongside them, and I think that walking through the jungle with an elephant by your side is still a pretty incredible experience, and one that you will remember for a lifetime.

Visitors are still welcome to bathe the elephants, and it is so much fun! My elephant loved being scratched by the brush, and so I made sure to give her an excellent scalp massage.

In addition to brushing them, we used buckets to dose the elephants in freshwater. They get dusty from rolling around in the sand, and they need to be bathed daily to get the sand out of their wrinkly crevices.

Bathing the elephants

After bathing the elephants, we were able to shower off and change into our clean, dry clothes. Then we were driven back to Chiang Mai and dropped off at our accommodations around 5:30 pm. We were tired and sweaty, but our hearts were full. This was truly one of the best days of my life.