Another FAKE sanctuary. The elephants work all day to please the tourist. First they have to wait on top of some rocks for the tourists to get there. Then we feed them with bananas so we can touch them and take pictures. Elephants only want the bananas, they don't like being pet or anything. When you don't have more food they try to live but the caretakers don't allow them (the show must go on). Now is bathtime! The caretakers started pushing and pulling their ears (their most sensitive part ) to force them to get into the river so we could bath them. They resisted, you could tell they didn't want it but still, everyone wanted their picture. In the water they avoided us but the caretakers force them to stay and do tricks for us. After that, the first group of tourists go to have lunch and another group arrives so the elephants have to start again. They don't use hooks but pinch their ears with their fingers and pull their tails constantly to avoid them to leave. The caretakers repeat constantly "Elephants Happy" but they are only slaves. Please, avoid any "Elephant sanctuary" that allows you to touch them and do activities with them. Elephants don't like people, just want their food. Get over it.

We've spend a half day with the elephants. We fed, them, went into the jungle, jumped into a mud pit and finally took a bath with them in a river close by. I never saw any of them chained, though there really were some things I was bewildered about: At first they told us, that the elephants can do whatever they want and if they leave the group, that's fine, but once one of them left, he was quickly brought back, to play with the tourists. Also, the elephants were kind of forced to spill water over us, which didn't seem to happen voluntarily ... In the end, it was hard for me to tell, if this is really a sancuary or a better zoo. As long as we have been there, they have been treated nicely most of the time. There were hardly any fences and the animals could walk around freely.

My husband and I booked a full day tour with a half day with elephants and half day of Doi Inthanon National park. Our guide, Show, was amazing! Had great conversations about our lives and made the trip so enjoyable. We started the day by going to a sanctuary with 4 elephants on site (3 adults and 1 younger elephant). We saw other elephant camps in other locations of Chiang Mai where the elephants were chained up but this camp lets the elephants roam free. We were given traditional clothing and a pouch to fill with bananas to feed the elephants, you get to feed directly into their mouths! We fed for about an hour. After feeding we took the elephants down to the river and were provided little buckets to bathe the elephants while they lay in the water. After elephant sanctuary we were provided with lunch and then taken to Doi Inthanon National park to see 2 beautiful Pagodas! We trekked a mile trial to an overlook with a beautiful view of the mountain range above the clouds. We finished our day with a stop at a beautiful waterfall! All in all one of the best experiences we have ever had! Highly highly recommend.

Very beautiful sanctuary run by locals! I'd recommend the full day tour (over the half day) since it's less rushed and you're able to see elephants just doing their thing. The elephants here were previously work elephants who can now live a peaceful life thanks this sanctuary. They seem like they can roam wherever (though they definitely know where the food is) 😅.

We did the 2 days tour and it was an incredible experience! The guide comes from the area, so he's a very experienced person, and with a great sense of humor! Great team, beautiful place. Cannot ask for more :)

I booked through the Waulai Hostel and did the two day one night trek and had such a great time! Our guide (Thong Cruise) was extremely knowledgeable and kind about the elephants and Karen people. We got to play with and feed the elephants for 3-4 hours. This is one of the best experiences of my trip!

Was incredible. Elephants are completely free. 2 babies and 3 grown females. Elephants have a valley to themselves with a area of 3km. Elephants are free to do anything they want and you just follow along. They have so much food to eat and water. Was beautiful experience.

Nice elephant park and tour in general. I don't know if the review stating the place is a fake sanctuary is true or not but I did observe that the elephants were reluctant to get into the water for a bath. They were also waiting for us to feed them. I believe they are being well taken care of though and they are free to roam around when the tourist are not there. There are not a lot of elephants here however I believe the tour sizes are around 5 people which means that you get to spend a lot of time with the elephants.

Great experience with the elephant sanctuary. It was clear that they really loved the animals, and we felt so comfortable the whole trip. Would recommend to anyone that goes to Chiang Mai to meet them, because its a really special activity. Thanks for everything !!!

I chose a package to see the elephants and a nearby waterfall. It was an amazing day out! The elephants are well taken care off, and are roaming around freely. We could feed the elephants and wash them in the river. They seemed to be enjoying it, and walked in without force. The waterfall was stunning, and we would have liked to stay a bit longer but unfortunately it started raining quite heavily. Overall, a fantastic day out of the city and highly recommended :)

We had the most amazing experience on a tour guided day with James as our tour guide. They picked us up from our hotel and we drove to the site to visit the elephants and feed them bananas. We had so much fun learning about Thai culture and the local tribes from the area from James. He’s so knowledgeable and kind and a fun tour guide. He helped guide us to all the activities for the day including seeing the water falls and going on an very relaxing bamboo rafting where we saw many animals along the way and even got showered by a drinking elephant. James took pictures and videos of us at every event and air dropped them to us on the ride back home. They made fresh pad Thai and even gave us seconds!! Definitely recommend and recommend James as your tour guide!

Felt scammed! We paid a lot of money and they said it wouldn’t be like the commercial ones, but looking at the state I felt really sad. There were too many tourists and the elephants seemed quite scared. They were mainly following the caretakers.

Wonderful choice to visit an elephant sanctuary near Chiang Mai! I chose Tour C to visit the elephant sanctuary and Doi Inthanon National Park, and we did a ton of different things in one day, but it did not feel rushed at all. I recommend this tour if you are limited on time in Chiang Mai because you get to combine two day trips that other companies do into one day. My guide Taksin was friendly and a great driver. Elephants were free-roaming and seemed happy and well-taken care of.

The elephants are in the jungle on their own, the place look fantastic for them, you can wash the elephants, feed them and hug them! The lunch was delicious, and the guide was very peaceful and kind! I love the place and the experience. 10/10

We booked half day in elephant sanctuary at our hotel in Chiang Mai. Next day we were picket in the morning from the hotel and after about 2 hours we arrived to village where sanctuary is located. We had a lifetime experience, those animals are so delicate and we were very impressed how well they are treated by the staff. Our trip would not be so good if not a presence of our guide James, who looked after us during whole trip. He was very communicative, positive and provided lot of information not only about elephants, but also about Thailand. Great place, greate guide, great experience. Thank you very much!

My favourite day from a 3 week trip to Thailand! Absolutely superb guide couldn't recommend highly enough. Ethical elephant sanctuary, these elephants are very well cared for and no riding!

Visit an elephant sanctuary was our main purpose for our trip to Thai. We were looking for an authentic and ethical sanctuary and we found it here. Elephants are treated with respect and dignity, all of them looks so happy and full of love. Thanks for this amazing experience

A great experience! We chose the package which included half a day with the elephants and the other half in Doi Inthanon national park. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the elephants are treated well. The drive back and forth was very comfortable as we were driving a big SUV

This was the absolute best experience in Thailand. The sanctuary treats their animals so well, the staff is really nice and the elephants are so sweet! This was my favorite excursion I have ever done, and I cannot rave about it enough. I learned so much about elephants, and I had so much fun taking care of them. They also took us to get some really yummy food.

Everything was perfect. On the way, we visited a nice and very cheap local bazaar, the attractions were close distances (a full-day trip with rafting), so we were not tired, there were no tricks for additional costs, we were kept informed about everything and everything took place in a very nice atmosphere thanks to the local guides - Karen people. And thank you very much for your punctuality. The organizer is really recommendable and you can see that the elephants are calm, well-groomed and happy.

James was quite possibly the best tour guide I've ever had 😆 As a solo traveler who essentially only spoke English, he spoke wonderful English and made me feel comfortable right away. We had a wonderful, jam packed day of adventure and laughs with elephants, including one baby, stopping for Pad Thai at a cute little place on the side of the road, and beautiful scenery in Doi Ithanon National Park with multiple landmark stops. The tour company was also accommodating in being able to pick me up a little outside their regular zone with a private car for an extra fee. Even though the day would have been great on it's own I'm sure (did package C by the way), it would not have been the same without the adorable James. He was so knowledgeable, funny, friendly and accommodating. I was feeling a little under the weather, and they even helped me with making a stop at an ATM and pharmacy on the way back. He also took many pictures of me throughout the day that he transferred to me via WhatsApp. Left the day feeling like I now had a new Thai friend. Thank you so much James! ❤️

We had a great day at Doiinthanon elephant sanctuary. We were very impressed by the elephants, the facility was very well maintained and the keepers treated the animals professionally. Our driver and tour guide Taksin was amazing, friendly and helpful. We'd love to come back.

Very nice experience ! We could learn a lot about the elephants! We were lucky that the weather was nice, since we got to experience a wonderful view of the pagoda, and enjoy a nice cup of local coffee ! 5/5 would recommend !

Excellent tour. We did the full day elephants + doi inthanon trek. Very small groups, it was only 5 for the elephants and then a private tour for the mountain as noone else booked. Very knowledgeable and friendly guide, plus we had a very new SUV so the 3+hours of driving was a breeze. Definitely worth going out of your way to find this group. One more thing is the park fees are 500THB each and not all tours include that in the advertiseved price.

It has been an amazing experience, the elephants are very well taken care of. They have one specific caretaker for each elephant, sugarcane and bananas are given as part of the tour. They also prepare some food and dessert for the tourists

We finally saw the amazing elephants. It was a unique experience to walk along and cuddle these majestic animals. Thx Taksin!

Love to see 5 elephants living in hehe, a must visit place and the tour is fantastic.

I have had a great tour at Doi Inthanon Elephant Park. The elephants are great! I could really get up close and interact with them, and washing them was a lot of fun. We had a huge buffet for lunch, it would be hard to go hungry there! The trekking is also great, I highly recommend tour C!

Very nice elephants park. All local people, who truly respect those animals. Spent a whole day with them and totally worth it. Probably part of the best memories of my trip.