I hate to give only 2 stars as I know its expensive to take care of elephants but it was heartbreaking to see them chained and swaying (a sign of distress and unhappiness). There are also shows where elephants are forced to perform and paint pictures and also elephants rides. It would be nice if there was a shift in focus when it comes to elephants so that they can just be elephants. Surely visitors would be happy to just see some wonderful elephants being happy and not all the additional aspects, but it does bring in money. Would be good if there were other more ethical ways for them to make money rather than forcing the elephants to perform and take people riding, etc. :/

An outdated place that keeps on going on pure (government funded) institutional inertia. Elephant "show" introduced by a children song and concluded by hungry elephants finally getting food. Chained up elephants on a meter long chain to the foot. Visitors riding elephants. This is a sad place and the 42 years old elephant whose 2 feet were chained up and forced to stand there in it's small enclosure with no food, no possible movement, nothing, is one of the saddest thing to witness.

Great place to get close to the 🐘 and enjoy watching them having a good bath, after which they will put up a performance for an audience! The highlight of the show was when a "student" elephant does a real painting using a paintbrush with its trunk. Once completed, the painting is put up for bidding! A white guy who was sitting in front of us bidded 200 Baht for it, while I had bidded for 300 Baht, but another person had bidded 400 Baht, and she got the painting! Amazingly, this lady from Bangkok came up to me and told me that she's giving me the painting instead! That really caught me by surprise, and I was so touched by her gesture that I'm writing this long review in hopes that she would read this and reconnect with me.

A very pleasant day out. Elephants are clearly well cared for and the centre has a totally different atmosphere to other centres - no elephant football matches etc. Entertainment is limited to a bathing session and a couple of parades. Rides are available. Plenty of opportunities to feed the Elephants and get up close. Only drawback for me was the dual pricing. But at £2.50 for Thais and £5 for non Thais it's not really an issue. Well worth a trip.

They’re doing a Fantastic job helping & taking care of the elephants here! We visited this Elephant Conservation Center to see Plai Sak Surin, the friendship ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, after returning back here for treatment at the elephant hospital. He looks much better, healthier, and recovering quickly. Other elephants here are being taking care very well. Clean and comfortable in their own ways. You can clearly see that the relationship between the mahouts (elephant keepers) and their elephants. With care and respect, of course. You can spend a night here at the hotel or a quiet resort, there are some activities with the elephants, restaurants, shuttle buses, and souvenir shops. The price is super reasonable. Overall we’re happy to come here and highly recommended ! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Very interesting and knowledgeable place. A small program telling about elephants' life and their role on logging business, excursion around the famous elephant hospital and very picturesque envifonment.

I visited this Elephant Conversation Centre specifically to see Sak Surin (= Muthu Raja, the mistreated elephant in Sri Lanka). Although this elephant (with other care needed elephants) is still in the animal hospital, it was such a pleasure to see that Sak Surin is recovering well and very happy and feeling comfortable with his new environment. This elephant is looked after and monitored 24/7 by at least a dozen Vets and helpers. The mahouts (I saw at least 3 of them) took care of Sak Surin very well. They are very kind a gentle to Sak Surin. It looks like the whole attention, also from public, is making Sak Surin happy and making the recovery process quick. I was keen to know why the elephants (not the sick/care needed ones who are at a different location) are kept under chains attached to their legs outside, under trees. I was told that these elephants who take part in various activities are kept under control so that they can attend to their duties/activities during the daytime and in the evening (once no more visitors are in the area), most of them are free to walk in the jungle probably with mahouts and within a limited area. This Elephant Conversation Centre is a kind of a park-like environment which is a great place for families to enjoy and take part in various elephant activities. There are buses (kind of) providing transport to various locations (included in the entry ticket and the ticket price is very reasonable). There is also a restaurant, and the food was good at a reasonable price. Obviously, there are multiple souvenir shops and some small coffee shops (I didn't try coffee at any of them so can't say how good they are). This Elephant Conversation Centre is doing a great job by looking after not only Sak Surin but also lots of other elephants who require medical treatment and care.

If you have any shred of compassion for animals, avoid this place. Elephants are chained in place for display - some can move around a few metres, but others are even worse off. See my photo of an elephant with its two front feet shackled together like it's committed some terrible crime; it couldn't move around at all and just kept shuffling its feet and tugging at its bonds with its trunk.

This an absolutely amazing place to visit! Plan on spending a few hours, wear comfortable shoes, and plan on seeing a lot of elephants. I actually just planned on stopping by to learn about some of the programs and tours that are available. I am new to the area. I wanted to explore some options. I ended up spending a few hours on the general tour. The fee is very small to ride the tour bus into the park, about 200 baht, and there are many things to see once inside. I got to see the elephant show which is really fun and there is an option to buy some small baskets of snacks, and feed the elephants afterward as well as photo ops. I do plan to visit again and participate in one of the day programs. These majestic animals are well cared for at the facility, and it is obvious that the staff truly loves the elephants. I certainly recommend visiting the elephant conservation center and learning about these amazing creatures.

Wonderful sanctuary for the elephants and a peacefully beautiful place Easily accessed from the highway when you're on the way from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, the conservation center greets you with the group of well-cared elder elephants that you can get close and feed before entering the park. The bus takes you inside where more activities with the elephants await. From the helpful staff and the friendly elephant trainers, it's easy to see the elephants are well-treated here. Well time spent.

Great place to visit. Seems very well organised. Elephants do look cared for. They also have a number of injured elephants that have been sent there for either rehab or long term care.

Just dropped by on my way to Lampang, and elephants are raised well. Had a quick look and feeding experience

This is one of my most favorite places. Plan to spend the whole day. I got kiss from elephant. And hugs. Sprayed by water. Just love this place. Please go there. You gotta see it. They ride you on a cart to the show. Lots of photos to take.

This is a well-run place with animal welfare as its central aim, the tourism element is additional. The elephants are 'rescue' animals, and are treated well here. Some of the elephants paint for tourists and you can buy the paintings in the shop on-site. I visited here the first time 20ish years ago, when one elephant ran around joyfully not doing what it was supposed to, and swinging its trunk in circles. This made my mum laugh so much she cried.

Not to be confused with the hospital nearby, (which is actually one of the BEST ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand), the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre is a separate, government-owned elephant camp with daily elephant shows and rides. This is another example of unethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, and should be avoided. Here, the elephants are chained up and bull hooks are used. You can ride the elephants, who are abused by the mahouts when not cooperating, and they are forced to perform too. They paint pictures and throw balls which might seem like light entertainment for the guests in the audience, but is the result of years of stress for the elephants.

Before you go there, check the show time otherwise you will miss the Elephant show. Good place eto visit with kids.

I paid 800baht for a 5min elephant ride around the tourist building. It's very different compare to the old time where the elephant bring you through jungle and river crossing. Disappointed with the experience.

With 250 baht, u can hav the elephant show (200 baht) plus a 10-minute elephant ride (50 baht) which will take you to the show. The performance lasted for about an hour. If you come early (around 9am), you'll get to see the elephant bathing. The show starts at 11am in the morning and 1 or 2pm for the afternoon show. *note: 50 baht elephant ride might be a discounted price since the original price we know is 200 baht/ person.

Really interesting and whilst everyone will take a different view of the ethics of the centre. We really enjoyed, meeting, feeding and learning about elephants. We arrived at 0930 which gave us time to sort tickets, get transported to the elephants, feed them and stroll leisurely to see the bathing (1045) and main show at 1100.

Cute n healthy elephants, clean place but restaurant toilets need a lot of cleaning to do. Don’t know what elephants had to endure to behave cute in front of tourists. Would prefer to see them just going about their days rather than “performing”.

This elephant center is fascinating. They take care of elephants excellent. I felt that those elephants were jubilant during my visit. The show is fun and interesting. You should arrive there before 1pm to watch the show from the beginning. However, the programs between weekdays and weekends are a bit different.

It's nice to see elephants with good care

Great place to feed, pet, ride elephants, and see a demonstration show about what elephants can do. Run by the Thai government so it's humane. This helps support the Thai elephant hospital where research to help elephants takes place. A worthy cause to support and prices are reasonable.

very nice place, not too expensive even for 'farang' , you can feel that people respect the elephants in this place and that they are not forcing them to do something they dont want to do.

Priceless experience. A lot of elephants and they are very kind and super cute. Love to come, wish to visit again soon.

The best place to see elephant. The animals all appeared very well looked after. They work am with tourist displays and then free to roam pm

I love elephants, and I appreciate what they are trying to do there, saving injured elephants, doing shows highlighting how the elephants were used in the past for gathering wood and transportation etc,etc. But unfortunately the place is a dump! The toilets are not cleaned ever! I think the elephants have better toilets than the guests! The restaurant was full of junk as it was also being used as a store room. There's no information about the bus that transfers guests from one place to another on site. You can actually do training there but who would possibly want to stay there overnight! Again, what the elephant sanctuary does to help elephants is fantastic, but if you are going to open to the public, then you should at least clean the toilets, clean up the site and make it more comfortable for the guests. I would recommend going to see the elephants, buy them some food, watch the events and then leave!