On my son's birthday, we visited SOS Wildlife centre for elephants. Located near Mathura, it was an eye-opening visit for us. How can man be so cruel towards the biggest mammal on earth, the elephant. The visit started with the educator explaining the motive of the ngo to rescue elephants and how they keep them in the rescue centre. Thereafter, we were taken inside the rescue centre near the elephants and were told stories about their pasts. It was a sad affair to see their injuries of past, soe were blind, some had broken knee, some had their ears chopped off and the list goes on. This was all done previously before rescue by humans obviously for commercial gains. But that is one side of humans, the other is the people working at this NGO, people working 24 hours taking good care of these elephants now so that they are fast on the recovery mode and do not develop hatred in their minds for us the humans. The visit was a memorable experience for my family and my small kids Shaurya and Jeevesh who loved the whole trip. We had the opportunity to bathe this largest mammal with our own hands and feed them too. Appeal to everyone to encourage, motivate and help these NGOs in whatever manner we can !!!!

After visiting Agra before heading on up to Delhi we decided to come to SOS wildlife. The place is 1 hour from Agra. I think this place includes transport but we had our own driver to take us on up. When we arrived we got shown in to a container were a small briefing took place and we watched a video for no longer then 5 minutes, some might find the footage a little sad, disturbing I don’t know but you see how elephants get captured from the wildlife and violently beaten to obey their new master. It’s really sad, but all this is just shown the reality of what really happens in the real world. Once this is done, a wavier form will be filled and then the field exercise starts. The wildlife SOS employee will tell you story about each elephant. There are 22 elephants on land, but we only seen 9, unfortunately we could not see the male elephants as they were too aggressive as it’s now ‘march mating season’. 😂 We were also told we cannot touch or feed the elephants as this gives them bad habits. (You’ll be told all this). You can take photos, videos and ask as many questions as you like. After the little field tour they take you to visit the gift shop where you pay the visit/donation price (1500 INR P/P) and can also purchase some souvenirs like posters, t-shifts, bags, magnets etc. Do keep in mind for some people the prices can be astronomical. Extremely over the price. But this goes back in to the work they do. Overall it was a wonderful experience because the elephants do actually look very happy. They show no signs of stress. There is a elephant cafe on the grounds it’s very well kept and you can stay back and look at the elephants from afar. The cafe prices are really, really cheap. Local prices you will be charged. And people working at the cafe are so nice. The only thing I can fault I thought the tour was very rushed to get in to the souvenir shop I think it would have been nicer to have more time observing the elephants. And more fun facts or general facts without having to ask loads. I’ve travelled all of Thailand and the most expensive yet ‘popular’ in high demand elephant sanctuary was “The Elephant hills rain forest camp.” It gets shown on all on all popular sights and rated really highly in Trailfinders.. When I visited here, I seen one elephant trainer beat one elephant with a bull hook to stop it from getting to excited (the female elephant was swaying back and forward as she was about to be feed) also trainers are seen sitting on the elephants. And they also hold the long sticks while walking with the elephants. (These long sticks have a sharp point at the top - shown in sos wildlife) the SOS wildlife really got me thinking about everything you’d like to believe. You want to believe sanctuary’s are caring for animals but some places are all a money gimmick. If only SOS wildlife could spread more education tours and more education to Thailand tourists would be more aware of how bad these elephant trekking tours are and possibly boycott them. Seeing one elephant here at SOS wildlife with her back legs bend was really sad 🥺 her legs were bend from years of trekking people around all for a tourist adventure. 😷

This place I will remember more than Taj Mahal. Absolutely brilliant people work here and do really important mission with helping animals. Location is distant but just follow the Google map directions and you will get there.

An excellent place to visit ....with kids they just love it....the work the staff and team at Wildlife SOS are doing is greatly commendable Taking care of these rescued animals and make provisions for good health, food and stay of both the bears and elephants is excellent. We were not only taken around the conservation area but also given brief insight into the story of each rescue, what are the natural requirements of the animals and how they are deprived when in a captive state.... The surrounding areas were clean too.... During the visit here you get to see the animals up close and like in nature....not like you see in a zoo.... A wonderful experience and a must visit place if you are in Agra/Mathura

We couldn't enter the conservation centre. One must reserve their tour before visiting through their online portal . But here's a trick. If you want to see the elephants visit the place around 3:30pm. The elephants are taken outside for a stroll. (Suraj) the elephant has the biggest tusk 🦣

It was an eye opening experience! Very warm and hardworking staff! They have a lot of information about treatment of elephants and the issues. There are volunteering opportunities for people who want to learn more or contribute. I’ll be back.

Wildlife SOS is basically a Elephant Conservation centre and a rescue unit which consist of Abused, exploited old elephants who are living their life peacefully here. The place is situated on National Highway -2 near to Eshaan College. 1) All types of facilities were provided to Elephants and their well-being and also they respond to all kind of rescue calls for different kind of animals throughout the city. 2) SOS Wildlife runs totally on donations , so if you ever planning to visit their please donate some amount also (which is mandatory in elephant conservation centre). 3) Proper Parking facility and Washroom facility available. 4) You have to call them prior for booking your visit to conservation centre.

A must have to visit this place. The team is full hearted giving everything to make the life of the elephants as good as possible. Impressive to be there and very touching.

Loved the facility and the fact that elephants are actually enjoying their time without worrying about their sad past. I visited on a rainy day and seeing them enjoying in the rain playing around made my day!

Great Initiative. People have to be made aware of the suffering these Elephants go thru. Thanks to Wildlife sos they can heal and have a Nice retirement. Me and my Daughter will remember this for a Long time and wish you the best of luck for the Future. People who Read this they can use your donation to keep helping the Elephants.

The work of Wildlife SOS is so admirable and crucial in this world. If you can support them in any way, please do!

To experience a dream of a lifetime one should visit Wildlife SOS Elephant Sanctuary. Elephants that had previously been abused and used for begging purposes get a second chance of life. All the elephants suffer from mistreatment, but Wildlife SOS is there to nurse them back to health both physically and mentally. It is an incredible organization!

We were delighted to visit this elephant conservation sanctuary and see how much the lives of these majestic animals have improved. It is great to see how much happier the elephants clearly are here, compared to some of the awful conditions that they have been previously kept in. It is easy to see that everyone there has a lot of love and respect for these elephants and cares about their wellbeing. The staff at the centre were knowledgeable, happy to answer questions, knew each of the elephants by name and clearly loved explaining all of their different personality quirks! If you love animals, 10/10 recommend a visit (I'd also recommend a visit to the sloth bear sanctuary, run by the same organisation, which is inside the bird sanctuary on the way from/back to Agra). Visits are easy to arrange - we just emailed the centre and heard back within a few hours.

It was one of a kind experience. You see the contrast between humans, how some evil humans have brought upon atrocities on these innocent creatures and then, there are some who are trying their best to help these creatures. Please donate to their cause and check out their website

A long time supporter and ardent animal lover , it was a wonderful experience to see how the elephants were being cared for in this beautiful place. Thank you for your efforts in making this world a better place for these beautiful creatures 🙏

We had a fantastic time visiting the rescue elephants. Our guide provided us with loads of interesting information and allowed us plenty of time to spend watching the majestic elephants. The work that Wildlife SOS do is absolutely inspiring!

Excellent facility for rescued elephants. A must visit for any animal lover. They are doing a fantastic job rehabiliting these majestic creatures who have been abused by their human owners for years. My 10 year old also really enjoyed this visit.

An eye opening experience, you will learn how éléphants are used and abused all over India. And to see how they are happy in the sanctuary is heart warming. Keep up the great work

A wonderful place to visit! It is great to see how they give mistreated elephants a new life! They also do an excellent job at educating society about why elephants should be free and not held captive.

Amazing place to learn about the elephants and to be educated about what torture they've been through while enslaved by humans. You can see them in rehabilitation getting a new life. Amazing experience for families, couples and children.