This is a continuation of my Asia trip report. See also Back from Thailand and Singapore: 7 Biggest Takeaways, Review: Singapore Airlines Business Class SFO to SIN to BKK, Cathay Pacific Premium Economy HKG to SEA, A Taste of Andaz Singapore, One Day in Singapore, Hyatt Regency Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Airport Lounge with Free Massage
On our first full day in Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand), we hired a driver through Northern Orchid Tours to take us on an all-day excursion outside of the city. Our first stop: Elephant Nature Park.
Elephant Nature Park
Elephants are extremely important in Thai culture, playing a huge role in the country’s history and religion. I wanted to see elephants up close and personal while in Thailand. However, elephant tourism has become a bit controversial over the past decade or so. While some places still offer elephant rides, elephant tourism has shifted more towards ethical no-touch sanctuaries. So, we picked the OG ethical elephant sanctuary, Elephant Nature Park.
The park is located around an hour north of Chiang Mai, and tickets include a shared ride from the city (although we arrived by private car). There are several sanctuaries in the area, and the roads have elephant crossing warning signs:
When we arrived at the sanctuary, we were assigned to a group of around 10 people and a guide inside the main building. The guide gave us around 20 minutes to use the facilities, check out the park’s history storyboards and peruse the gift shop. We could already admire elephants near the building:
Soon, it was time for our group to start our walk around the park. Elephant Nature Park is 250 acres and has over 100 elephants plus rescued buffalo and dogs. It’s not fenced in–the animals are free to roam around wherever they please. I asked my guide why the animals don’t just wander off and never come back. His answer: We feed them and they like it here.
I have never been this close to elephants. Our guide spoke to us about each elephant group we encountered, telling us a bit of their history.
We walked around for about 2 hours, observing the elephants but not touching them. Thankfully, the property had some structures we could use for shade because it was fairly hot.
The highlight for me was watching the elephants cool off in the river.
They just looked so joyful!
At the end, we feasted on a vegan lunch buffet. I admit, I was not thrilled that lunch was vegan/vegetarian because I’m not used to eating it. But the food was very delicious and filling!
Visiting Elephant Nature Park was one of the highlights of our entire trip. I highly recommend it.
Wat Ban Den
After lunch, we left the park with our driver and headed to nearby Wat Ban Den, a complex of Buddhist temples. I love looking at architecture in different countries, and Wat Ban Den did not disappoint! We saw A LOT of temples during our time in Thailand, but if I could pick just one place to see, it would be Wat Ban Den.
We were there on a Friday in May (low season), and it felt like we had the entire complex to ourselves. Note that women must cover their knees and shoulders to enter the property (we brought skirts to put over our shorts).
to go inside the temples, we had to remove our shoes.
The details on each temple were just astounding.
Some of the temples had tiny bells hanging outside, and the they had such a relaxing ring when the wind was blowing.
I could have stayed at Wat Ban Den longer if it wasn’t so incredibly hot!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
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