Elephant sanctuaries in Thailand
Throughout Thailand there are many elephant sanctuaries. There are so many that it is hard to pick, and hard to judge which ones are good.
Sadly, there are still some sanctuaries that offer elephant-riding or other unethical practices, where they force the elephants to do things just to amuse the tourists. Please do not engage in this. While looking for a sanctuary that fits your itinerary and budget, do look out for this and always read past reviews.
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary is an elephant sanctuary near Chiang Mai, not to be confused with Mae Rim Elephant Home, which is a completely different organisation. The one we visited, Maerim Elephant Sanctuary, has been in operation since 2017 and currently look after 7 elephants, all of which were rescued from cruel practices. They have very good all round reviews and, in our opinion, are a great sanctuary in the area of Chiang Mai.
Is it ethical?
Whether an elephant sanctuary is actually 100% ethical is difficult to say. Of course one can argue that the interaction between humans and elephants is unethical in the first place, as this means the animals change their wild behaviours.
However, sadly many elephants in Thailand that live in the wild end up in captivity to work in camps or perform in circuses where they are treated very poorly.
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary, and many other sanctuaries, have rescued their elephants from these practices and run tours to pay for their care. That being said, we believe Maerim belongs to one of the better elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai.
From what we saw, the animals were taken care of in a good and non-intrusive way. They had the freedom to walk around at all times and the caregivers seemed to be really loving to them. Additionally, the animals were not forced to do anything and did not look distressed in any way.
How to book
The best way to book is online through Maerim’s website, as this tends to be cheaper and you deal directly with the company. To find their website and book you can click here.
Another option would be to book through an accommodation or tour shop in Chiang Mai that offer a day trip to Maerim Elephant Sanctuary. However, this might be harder to find. We booked through August Hostel in Chiang Mai old town.
How to get there
Getting to Maerim Elephant Sanctuary is easy, as pickup and drop off are included when booking through their website. This is really convenient as you’ll probably stay in the centre of Chiang Mai, and the sanctuary is a bit further out.
You’ll be picked you up in a tuktuk and it takes around 45 minutes to get there. Even though this is not the most comfortable mode of transport, it’s not too bad and you can already meet some other travellers going to the sanctuary.
What tours are available
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary offers multiple elephant experiences. You can decide based on what you would like to do and how much time you want to spend there.
For all tours, you’ll receive the traditional elephant handler clothes, called mahout clothing. There is also a swimming pool and bar, so after any of the tours you can have a dip and a drink there.
Moreover, for the half and full day options you’ll get the added experience of being taught how to cook Thai noodle soup. You’ll then get to cook it yourself for either lunch or dinner.
The available experiences are;
Half-day (morning or afternoon)
- Accommodation pickup, 45 minute tuktuk to Maerim Sanctuary
- Group briefing/introduction, change into mahout clothing
- Feed the elephants
- Learn about the elephants
- Mud spa and bath
- Clean off and swim in the pool
- Learn to make Thai noodle soup
- Drop off back to accommodation
- 7:00am - 1:30pm or 2:00pm - 8:30pm
- 1,600 THB
Full-day
- Accommodation pickup, 45 minute tuktuk to Maerim Sanctuary
- Group briefing/introduction, change into mahout clothing
- Feed the elephants
- Learn about the elephants
- Mud spa and bath
- Clean off and swim in the pool
- Learn to make Thai noodle soup
- Help handlers forage for wild treats
- Observe elephants and walk in the jungle
- Wash elephants in the stream
- Clean off and leave sanctuary
- Drop off back to accommodation
- 9:00am - 6:30pm
- 2,000 THB
Greet & feed
- Arrive at Maerim Sanctuary
- Group briefing/introduction, change into mahout clothing
- Feed the elephants and take photos
- Learn about the elephants
- Clean off and leave sanctuary
- 1 hour block between 10:00am & 5:00pm
- 800 THB
Note: In our opinion this option isn’t worth it. Also pickup and drop-off are not included in this.
What to bring
Maerim Elephant Sanctuary provides most things you’ll need for the time you’re there, like clothes, water, dinner and/or lunch (depending on your tour). But some things that you will need to bring are;
- Swimming clothes – for the mud bath and pool afterwards
- Flip flops – you move around in dirt and mud (amongst other things 💩), so bring shoes you can clean easily.
- Change of clothes – there are showers and change rooms available
- Cash – you have the option to buy some merchandise, photos and drinks at the end of your tour. They only accept cash and there is no ATMs in the area.
Wanting to book?
Follow the links below for all your accommodation, transport, & activity needs!
Can you take photos
While meeting the elephants at Maerim Elephant Sanctuary, you are free to bring a phone or camera to take photos. However, during the tour there is also a photographer that takes photos of you with the elephants. They create an album per group of visitors which you can purchase if you like.
We ended up bringing a phone but almost took no photos with it once we saw the photographer. This is great as you can fully focus on being around the elephants without constantly recording the experience. The photos they take are great, so we would recommend buying them.
Our experience at Maerim Elephant Sanctuary
Overall, we were very happy with our time at the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary. We booked the half day afternoon tour and felt like we were able to see and learn a lot about the elephants them without intruding. The whole afternoon went very smoothly and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Meeting and feeding the elephants
After arriving at the sanctuary you’ll change into the mahout clothing and learn about the history of the sanctuary and their elephants. You’ll then go outside to fill up 2 huge bags worth of pumpkins to go and meet the elephants.
When we fed the elephants, there were no chains, ropes or guides forcing them around. The elephants were free to wander around and just keen to eat some pumpkin.
Mud bath and swim
Next we walked to the mud bath. Out of all the elephants, only one was keen to take a mud bath. The guides had told us prior that the elephants will only bath if they want to, so you can get unlucky. We were able to join in the mud if we wanted.
When the elephant was done, it simple got up and started walking out. We followed and went to a small lake. 3 of the elephants got in the water and we could splash around and wash the mud off the elephant and ourselves.
End of the tour
After saying goodbye to the elephants, you can have a quick shower rinse the mud off your body. There is time to swim in the pool for a bit and enjoy a cold drink while the guides prepare the ingredients for a delicious noodle dinner.
What we liked
We really liked the structure of the half day elephant experience at Maerim. The amount of time we had with the elephants was perfect. Before meeting the elephants, we were well informed about and learned about their behaviour and personality and what we should and shouldn’t do.
We really liked the combination of interacting with the elephants and observing them roam around from a distance. Learning how to make Thai noodle soup at the end was great fun (and delicious) too.
What we disliked
There was only one thing we disliked about Maerim, and that was the group size of our tour. During our tour, there were around 30 people in the group which made it slightly less personal and special. Smaller groups would be better for the elephants and would also make the experience more authentic.
Where to stay in Chiang Mai
We’d recommend staying in Chiang Mai old town, as there’s lots to do and it’s central. We stayed at a hotel called Chana Place which is a great option for budget travellers. We booked through booking.com as they gave the best price.
Alternatively, our friends stayed at a hostel called August Hostel. We spent a bit of time here as well and it had a great atmosphere. It was from here where we organised the Maerim Elephant Sanctuary tour.
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