Elephant Sanctuary, Chiang Mai

It was an early start as we were picked up at 6.45am to visit Into The Wild Elephant Sanctuary. We've both been looking forward to this trip, however with Jess' love for elephants, she was rather excited. We spent the morning feeding, walking alongside, playing in the mud and bathing a family of elephants. Having heard and seen first hand the poor treatment of some elephants in Thailand in places which claim to be ‘sanctuaries,’ we spent a lot of time researching an ethical excursion. Thankfully, we were not disappointed by our trip as the sanctuary evidently cared for these amazing animals who had been rescued from working places. It was really nice to finally see elephants free roaming around a huge rescue sanctuary instead of being tied up inside a cage, something which we've unfortunately seen a lot of. At the sanctuary, there were 4 elephants including a baby elephant. Usually there would be 5, however one was in the hospital due to an infected eye. The guide was incredibly enthusiastic, telling us stories about each elephant whilst showing us how to feed them. Then it was our turn to feed the elephants and of course Jess being an elephant lover couldn't wait to get stuck in. Elephants approached the feeding area and as people grabbed bundles of bananas, their trunks would suddenly appear sourcing out the food. As we placed bananas in their trunks, the elephants would patiently wait until they had a few before eating them. We then went on a walk through the jungle led by the elephants, watching them climb the slippery, steep hills with ease, stopping to eat along the way. Afterwards, we bathed them in a mud bath followed by a dip in the water to wash them. As the elephants went under the water you would suddenly see their trunks appear like a snorkel to which we found rather amusing. Yes the pictures do show this to be a lovely experience, which it was, but what they don’t show is that these large animals don’t half poo without any regard for people nearby. That included in their bath where we ‘washed’ them. Let’s just say Dan was not a fan of walking barefoot in the mud pools.

This really was an amazing day and will be an experience we'll never forget!Read more