Chiang Mai Mountain Sanctuary (Elephant)

Thank you to Mali and lee of the lucky life elephant sanctuary for a wonderful experience.. I have never felt so close and connected to nature and the elephant 🐘,❤❤🐘

Our guide, Lee was awesome. They pick you and drop you off from where you stay in the city. Highly recommended experience with natural safe interactions with the elephants in the sanctuary. Lunch and uniforms were provided. We fed, bathe, and played with the elephants and had a great time learning about them. Pretty much felt like we got to be a part of their daily routine/life

I absolutely loved this experience!! Totally once in a lifetime. It’s a must if you visit Thailand. We get to feed them, give them a mud spa, and wash them! A lot of good bonding time. They are so smart. I really enjoyed the quality time we had here

This is an absolutely amazing place! I did the half day trip and it was the perfect amount of time period you get to feed and interact with the elephants who are super gentle you get to cross a river with them and help to bathe them and give them a mud spa bath! Then you are fed and a delicious Thai meal with the best pineapple I've ever eaten in my life! This was one of the best things I have ever done and I would highly recommend it!!!

This is absolutely the best way ever to spend time with beautiful Elephants.

There is no elephant show, you can't ride the elephants.

There are 2 types of visit. Half day or full day.

We booked a private visit half day visit for 6 people. 4 adults and 2 children. Total cost Thb 9000. We got picked up from the hotel.

We fed the elephants. We learnt about the elephants. We befriended the elephants. We took them for a walk through a bit of jungle. We took them to a mud bath and we went swimming with them.

There are 2 baby elephants. Both beautiful and crazy.

The elephants do what they want when they want. It is a bit of organised chaos at times but absolutely beautiful.

The elephants are cared for by the local Lana people. They don't use hooks. They don't hit them. They treat that so well and watching the human and elephant interaction is something pure and amazing.

I highly recommend this as a destination if you want to experience local people and beautiful elephants.

They supply clothes (Lana style) and you get to have a shower before they feed you amazing Thai dishes and then drive you back to Chiang Mai.

Great guide loved it but tbh it was for me a holiday filler but after going here I will never go see a elephant in a zoo ever .best part for me was seeing the elephants looking actually happy and not surrounded by concrete just loved this part of it

Went here with my wife, 3 kids, and mother-in-law. Everyone had a great time feeding, walking with and bathing the elephants. What an experience that all of us are never going to forget. Our guide Amy was fantastic and great with the elephants and kids.

Loved this tour, it was very rustic and they seem to care for the elephants quite well - there is no riding the elephants here. Alas they make you wear these hideous shorts and shirts (to protect your clothes from mud and such). For the full-day tour, you are first supplied with lots of bananas and sugarcane to feed them and take photos, then taught to make a medicine for their health. Lunch is provided (fresh fruit, water, coffee, and very mediocre pad Thai) before taking the elephants on a hike across the river (cold, waist-height and strong current and sharp rocks, not recommend for children) and up a trail to a muddy zone where you play in the mud with the elephants and coat them in it before you hike back to the river to bathe them. Then you shower yourselves!
Recommend to bring water shoes (not flip flops), sunscreen, bugspray and waterproof camera or phone case, sunglasses, hat, a small snack and bathing suit. Towels and hideous clothing are provided. About 8-10 people in each group.

We booked a day tour (JUNE 2018) The morning was great . We changed our clothes ..we feed elephants . Our guide Johnny explained the sanctuary to us ..we ate lunch ...and then we got ready for the afternoon with the elephants .. The afternoon was far more than expected ..we filled out bags with sugarcane . The elephants knew it was there ..we walked with the pregnant girl and she was very demanding so our cane did not last so long .. We walked through fields then up in to the forest on a trodden muddy track .. all the while the elephants trundled along ..grabbing ar the green forest with their trunks .. We climbed a steep slope that was slippery from the rain . The elephants walked and ate . The keepers spoke firmly to them to keep them on the move. THERE WERE NO HITS . NO PRODS WITH STICKS OR METAL HOOKS..NO CHAINS OR LEADS ... THERE WAS NO CRUELTY . ..THERE WAS ONLY FIRM VOICES USED SO THE ELEPHANTS MOVED ALONG .

We walked ... They ate .. they played in puddles and sprayed us with mud . They ate ..they scratched their big grey butts on trees along the way ...the waddled along at a leisurely pace ...we wandered along beside them.. They stayed on the track ..they ate and climbed ..when they were tired they laid their trunks on the ground so we rested with them .. Then they began to move with purpose ...their pace picked up and they moved along faster .. We walked through the jungle ..then the land opened out on to a large flat . Just beyond we could see the river...and the elephants began to trot . and the fun began🐘🐘🐘🐘 The river was red and murky from the rain. It flowed vastly..the elephants were in and so were we....thoroughly recommend this day. IT WAS GREAT!!!

Great experience, feeding, giving a mud bath, washing and walking activities with these magnificent animals, guide Ping Pong was very informative .Only five elephants at the sanctuary, but I believe the males elsewhere
No riding here, elephants well cared for by their mahoots.
Thoroughly recommend this day out

Hosts are really funny and nice! There are 5+ elephants that you can feed and pet, very friendly too. Started off with lunch then change into the clothes that were given to us. After that we collected sugar canes and bananas to feed the elephants. You aren't restricted on how much food are allowed per person, which I thought was great. We then took the elephants for a walk around the field and to their mud bath area. You have the option to get down and dirty with the elephants and help them splash mud on themselves. Before ending the excursion, we bathe the elephants in a large pool area. You have the option to get in the pool, highly recommend even though the water is a tad cold. The baby elephant (Jack) is the cutest! He loves to swim. Before heading back to the hotel, the hosts gives you plenty of time to wash up and change. Everyone there is very nice and accommodating.

Cute Mabo is here! One of elephants which we walked together to have mud bath and play water in the river! Though hiking wasn't easy and made us dirty, it was still great day for me with those cuties💕💕

The most excellent time ever. Our tour guide Li was so wonderful. She had so much personality, was very knowledgeable and helpful and just a pleasure to be around. She even made little leaf hats for us during the trek through the jungle. I feel like she made the experience many times better than it would have been, despite how incredible it was to be close to the elephants.
We got to feed the elephants, make a special vitamin solvent for them, give them a mudbath, and bathe them in the river. Ended it with a Zipline across the river. An incredible value for the price. I would highly recommend this sanctuary and definitely recommend Li.

Coolest thing I have ever done in my life. Our tour guide Lee was amazing ! Do the whole day trip for sure.

Awesome place, elephants roamed free and you got to interact with them. Had so much fun walking the elephants to the mud bath and pool. Loved all aspects of it.

There are so many mountain sanctuaries that it is overwhelming to choose one. This one ended up being chosen the day before or excursion by happenstance, as it was the one the tour guide at our hotel was offering. We had a 100% positive experience and it was the most memorable part of our holiday. I recently asked our children what their favorite part of their vacation was, and this won, hands down.

We had a punctual driving service pick us up from Chang Mai and drive us the approx 1.5 hour to the elephant home. There seem to be tons and tons of these homes lined up, so it's not like it's all by itself in the middle of nowhere, but somehow it felt isolated, at the same time.

We had paid for a day trip (full day) and that meant visiting with the elephants. While the 1/2 day people did their little playtime with the elephants, the guide taught us how they make vitamins for the elephants. Once the 1/2 day morning group was gone, we were reunited with the elephants (about 6) and went on a hike with them over a river and up hills, (small mountains?). At the end of the hike, the elephants bathed in a mud bath. We took them back down, where we cleaned them off and scrubbed them and splashed with them in the river. The entire trip we fed them sugar cane and bananas.

The elephants were gentle and sweet. You can tell they've lived a hard life, but boy oh boy, their are being treated like queens now, being fed, bathed, and loved on all day long.

I think by the time our group was done, it was time for the afternoon half-day group to do their quick play time with the elephants.

The tour guide was great, the elephants were gentle and well taken care of. The lunch was lovely, more than I expected. I would really recommend a full day trip, as the half day seemed more like a quick intro to the elephants, and you probably spend more time in the car than with the elephants.

They offered us clothing to change into, so you don't have to worry about getting your nice clothes ruined by muddy water (that will stain).

Shoes are an issue. Some sort of water shoe that you can hike in would be the best choice.

Again, this trip far exceeded our expectations and I would highly recommend!

I'm giving it 5 stars as I got to fulfill a 2 decade dream of hugging an elephant. We purposely tried to find an ethical sanctuary, as I don't want to contribute to anything to the discomfort of these beautiful creatures. Whilst we were assured they are humanly treated it's still a performance of sorts, one where they're feed and washed but not on their terms. We did see people riding elephants in a neighbouring sanctuary and I got the impression that it was owned by the same people, so they're fundamentally catering to 2 crowds, those who care and those who don't, both of which are a source of income. I was more disappointed with what looked like the exploitation of the Burmese long neck tribes who were situated on the site. All in all it was a bittersweet experience. I selfishly got to fulfill a dream but at what cost!? I realise these places have running costs and tourism helps but....

Absolutely magical, the elephants are happy and healthy. I highly recommend this sanctuary because the people that operate the facility are so passionate and sweet to the elephant residents.

We absolutely loved this elephant sanctury. If you want a close encounter with an elephant then this is the tour for you. There is NO RIDING OF ELEPHANTS! We walked with them in the park and into the forest where we gave them a mud bath. Then back to the river to wash. Be prepared to get muddy and wet. It was fun and unforgettable.

Amazing experience. You can feed and stay with wild elephant. The lunch was amazing and delicious. Not cheap but the money that we pay they use to keep this sanctuary open. Really recommended