Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Elephant Hills is a lot more than just a regular tented camp – it offers its visitors a very special experience, but we will get to that soon! But at Elephant Hills there is no elephant riding, no performing and no chains. Thanks, Nathan. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Thailand Green Excellence Award for Animal Welfare in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Is bathing elephants ever ethical? There are no elephant rides at Elephant Hills, and they have a conservation program to help wild and domestic elephants in Thailand. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain. In Phuket Elephant Sanctuary they take the ethical tourism even one step further as they don’t allow visitors bathing with the elephants. Looking for an outdoor adventure in Thailand? 3. The ethical treatment of the elephants is one of the main reasons Elephant Hills Tented Camp and its sister camp, the Rainforest Tented Camp on Cheow Larn Lake, are so popular with adventurous honeymooners, and if I meet one more happy couple I’m going to take my solo self into a corner and cry. I would have loved the elephant scrubdown, even if they want to get you wet and dirtier than the elephants. Terms. (You can read more here about why you should never ride an elephant). Book a tour at Elephant Hills with just a 20% fully refundable deposit! Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary. Packages at Elephant Hills are all inclusive. I know I’ll roar with laughter because all his hard work has gone to waste and then everyone will know I’m not a team player. Observe how elephants rehabilitate into forest life after decades of abuse, and experience how incredible the largest land mammal on earth is during a … Jet off for a magical Thai experience including a 2 night Elephant Hills Jungle Safari from £1,329pp, based on a family of 3 sharing. If you want to stay at the Rainforest Camp book early. Looking for more exotic places to stay in Thailand? How was it to scrub the elephant? The rest of the tour price can be paid anytime up until 7 days before the tour departure! Elephant Hills Family Adventure May 2021 Getaway. But after seeing (on safari) how differently elephants behave in the wild in Africa, we now understand that Asian elephants in Thailand really shouldn’t be ridden (they say you have to break an elephant’s spirit to get it to accept a human rider). Note: My stay was arranged by the the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Activities You can go on treks with the elephants and their mahouts, and visit the Thai and hill-tribe communities where captive elephants spend their time. It is a kind of rustic luxury paradise in Thailand. I would love to experience this, Elephant Hill really seems to care for the Elephants, which is important to me, as I don’t want to contribute towards anything that is unethical on my travels! Elephant Hills tented camp is in Southern Thailand about two hours’ drive from Phuket. PLEASE HELP US CARE FOR OUR ELEPHANTS!Due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19 we need your support more than ever before. Their mahout was always nearby and the elephant felt safe, so I did, too. Ominous clouds are threatening, the air is hot and humid and the craggy mountains of Khao Sok National Park are hemming me in. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Just on the edge of Khok Sao National Park lies the luxurious elephant … Elephant Hills. But they aren’t wild. Your experience is amazing and also this is something offbeat that one can do when in Thailand.. Great info! The CATEGORIES drop down menu above will point you to locations and travel themes such as hotels, outdoor adventure and tours. This comes in handy when preparing a meal for an elephant. I think he has a vendetta against me. If you like wielding a machete preparing a meal for an elephant is great fun. Moddaeng is one of 14 elephants – all female – here at Elephant Hills’ elephant park, an eight-hectare space nestled beneath dramatic, jungle-clad, limestone mountains in Thailand’s Khao Sok National Park, about three hours north of Phuket. Great read and very valuable information for my bucket list! Staying at elephant Hills tented camps seems like a complete experience in itself. A former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star, Carol has won more than 20 writing and blogging awards and honours. We are very proud to have repeatedly received this award, and thank both the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Wanderlust magazine for their continuous support in improving the living conditions of Asian Elephants in Thailand. The real luxury at Elephant Hills is the setting: sheer cliffs that look as if they’re dripping ink, strange karst formations and foliage as thick as a hipster’s beard. Click to enable/disable essential site cookies. But don’t worry. Lush Koh Samui jungles envelop our sanctuary which sits proudly atop undulating hills and commands impressive views over the Gulf of Thailand and Koh Phangan. It couldn’t feel more exotic. It’s also a luxury experience, though I wouldn’t call it ultra glam. We are always open about how we live and work with the elephants in our care and judging from other guest reviews on TripAdvisor, this seems to be the right policy.