Day 44: ChiangChill Elephant Sanctuary

ChiangChill is a Elephant Sanctuary, about 1.5 hours drive away from Chiang Mai, somewhere in nowhere (thankfully the breaks of the van were working properly!).
Usually, I don't book tours with animal encounters, as many tour providers take advantage of the money without taking care of the animal's welfare. We chose to participate in the half-day tour to ChangChill, as their program does not include any direct contact with the elephants. We started with a jungle walk and met the animals free in the forest, without any ropes or anything. Each of the 5 elephants had its own guard, but they were just in standby close by.
After a nice lunch, also the elephants got a snack and the visitors could observe them from very close.

The day ended with the return to Chiang Mai. From there, we're heading in this very moment further to Chiang Rai.

Overall, I'd say none of the activities including animals can be 100% natural, ethical and authentic. Nevertheless, ChiangChill found a way to catch the attention and awareness of the tourists that also "just" the observation of the animals can be a memorable experience.Read more