2 DAYS: ELEPHANT ENCOUNTER

Elephant encounter: Feel the grey giants!

Touching an elephant the first time - an amazing feeling

It is more than exciting to be close to elephants the very first time – to touch their skin, to fully understand their size and why they are so majestic. This moment is memorable as few are in one’s life. Even though you will eventually be more and more familiar with the grey giants, it is almost certain, that you will remember those first feelings towards them.
The 2-day-tour lets you experience this unique occasion. Centred around a mix of information and emotion, you will get an insight in the culture of Asian elephant keeping and will also have close and lasting impressions with these magnificant animals. You will also be introduced to the production of paper out of elephant dung.

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What I can expect: 2 days in the elephant camp

• Get to know those great animals upclose
• Bathe with the pachiderms and feed them
• Lead the elephants from their sleeping spots in the woods to the camp
• Visit of a Mountain tribe village
• introduction to creating paper out of elephant dung
• Make a special reminder of your “elephant”

Please notice

Pick up in Chiang Mai is not later than 8.30 am. You will be back in town at around 6.00 pm on the next day.

VPlease check for availability prior to booking!

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2 Days / 1 Night

260 € / Person

+ 20% for single travellers

Services included:

+drinking water

+full board

+english speaking tour guide

+transfer to/ from Chiang Mai

+standard accomodation – bungalows with separate bathroom can be booked on request
To our accomodation

not included:

+alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, juices

+personal expenses and tips

+international and national flights

BOOK THIS TOUR

To the detailed travel program

THIS TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE RIDING

If you are interested in a tour where you can also learn how to ride an elephant, we recommend taking a look at these two programs:

3 DAYS: ELEPHANTS-UPCLOSE-TOUR
5 DAYS: ELEPHANT-BONDING-TOUR

On the subject of “Elephants riding yes or no”, we have set up a site on which we represent the position of ELEPHANT SPECIAL TOURS: Further information

WHY IS THE 2-DAY TOUR THE SHORTEST TRIP WE OFFER?

Being with elephants is something unique most people never forget. We are truly convinced that introducing elephants to people takes time. If you rush at walking with them, bathing them, touching them you misunderstand the natural behaviour of these calm giants. Also information is a key element in getting to know elephants. Asian elephants and asian culture are deeply connected – a bound that should be explained and also should be regarded in today’s fast changing society. All of this takes time – time we are happy to spend with you.

WHY OUR TOURS ARE WORTH THEIR PRICE

There are many elephant tour operators around in Northern Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. Many offer half-day or 1-day trips with different approaches. This tour might at first sight seem a bit more expensive compared to our competitors. But there are reasons why we have to charge a little more:

No mass tourism: Often a lower price means you will be part of a bigger group. With Elephant Special Tours you will be introduced to each elephant individually. Everyone of them has its own story – a story we take time to tell you. Also bathing in a big group can be stressful for elephants when there are a lot of people running and jumping around.

Natural nutrition: We are deeply convinced that a whole nutrition is a key element to the well-being of these magnificent animals. Therefore we guarantee them a variety of food (elephant gras, corn plants, hey, banana trees, rice and many other food offerings) that regard their natural needs. This is expensive since elephants eat up to 400 pounds a day. Also many different paths through the woods are rented where they can find their own food in the wilderness.

Cultural bound: Our tours are presented by European elephant experts in english and german. Together with our local staff we can create a source of information that presents insights into Northern Thai culture from a perspective most foreigners regard highly. For legal reasons these European experts create higher costs, a price we are happy to pay.

Experience included: Apart from getting to know our elephants you can expect included standard accommodation, full board with great local food, transfer starting at your hotel in Chiang Mai and a landscape that might keep you astonished.

Detailed travel program

Day 1

We pick you up from your hotel in Chiang Mai. Pick-ups from the train station are unfortunately not possible, due to the tardiness of Thai trains.
(IMPORTANT: Pick-up no later than at 8.30 clock in the morning)
You arrive in the village Mae Sapok, where you can leave your belongings in your accommodation for the duration of your stay. During a morning coffee or tea, we present the course of the day. We then take a short ride to our elephant camp, which is located nearby.

Here information about elephants in general and about the tradition of keeping elephants in Asia is presented. Get to know our animals, we introduce you to the characters and the story of each individual elephant in order to give you an idea of our beloved project.

Because it is of great concern to us to introduce the elephants slowly and with calm caution, they are presented up close very gently. You will now experience what it means to be so near to those magnificent giants.

After lunch you lead your elephant to the nearby river and enjoy a long bath with the animals. Doing so, your elephant keepers and your English speaking tour guides will always be around and support you in any way possible..

While the elephants now enjoy their free time, you will get to see the village of Mae Sapok. Most residents belong to the mountain people of the Karen. We introduce you to their lifestyle and also explain how they adapt to the challenges of the 21st century. This is not a so-called show-village, in which people are presented for the amusement of tourists – Mae Sapok is a normal village as there are many in the area.

After a relaxing shower in your room you can enjoy the multi-course dinner in the dining area of your accommodation. You will then have the opportunity to attend a screening of a video film about elephants.

Day 2

After breakfast you go to the elephant camp accompanied by your trainer. From there you take a walk into the surrounding forest, where you pick up the elephant from their night time sleeping areas. You lead the animals back to the elephant camp and will be getting more and more confident due to the experience you gained on the previous day in dealing with the pachyderms.

After the elephants have arrived, our trained Mahouts will show you how the elephants used to work in the logging industry. You then can personally say goodbye to the elephants and enjoy your lunch with a spectacular view in our Lodge “White House”.

After lunch, you have the opportunity to design a unique piece of remembrance of this trip: A T-Shirt provided by us will be printed with the footprint of “your” elephant. We also introduce you to the unique method of making paper out of elephant dung. This completes the impressive elephant experience in a pleasant and relaxed way.
Prior to departure you can shower before heading back to Chiang Mai, where you can reminisce with hopefully great impressions of your experience. You will arrive in the city at around 5:30 pm.

Contact us!

Elefanten & Menschen: Wie uns der Kontakt gelingt

Es gibt eine emotional geführte Diskussion, ob touristische Projekte mit Elefanten in Menschenhand für die Tiere gut sind. Gern möchten wir erläutern, warum unser Projekt entstanden ist. Wir sind der festen Überzeugung, dass der Erhalt der Tiere nur mit den Menschen vor Ort gemeinsam stattfinden kann.

Elefanten brauchen uns alle

Bei der Kritik an Elefantentouren standen Tierschutzargumente im Zentrum – aus gutem Grund: Tatsächlich sind insbesondere in den vergangenen Jahren zahlreiche Camps eröffnet worden, in denen Gewinnmaximierung als primäres Unternehmensziel über dem Wohl der Elefanten stand. Mit der Maßgabe in möglichst kurzer Zeit möglichst viele Gäste unter zu bringen, werden die Tiere an ihre Belastungsgrenze und darüber hinaus geführt.

Wenn aber Elefantencamps von verantwortungsvollen Gästen aus aller Welt nicht mehr besucht werden, wird den Tieren ein schlechter Dienst erwiesen. Die Elefantencamps werden hierdurch dazu genötigt, sich solchen Kundengruppen zuzuwenden, die nur schnellen Spaß und pure Unterhaltung wünschen. Elephant Special Tours hat sich mit einem Ansatz etabliert, der mit der individuellen, deutschsprachigen Betreuung von Gästen und einem ruhigen, auf Respekt basierenden Umgang mit den Tieren ein einzigartiges Konzept anbietet.

Wir sind davon überzeugt, dass diese spezielle Herangehensweise an das Zusammenführen von Mensch und Elefant den Bedürfnissen der Tiere gerecht wird und ihnen eine Möglichkeit bietet, im 21. Jahrhundert glücklich in die Zukunft zu blicken.

Tradition und moderner Tierschutz

Elefantenhaltung hat in Asien eine Jahrtausende alte Tradition, insbesondere in Nordthailand wurde der Arbeitselefant intensiv in der Holzindustrie eingesetzt. Von Jahr zu Jahr sinkt die Population der asiatischen Elefanten. In Thailand leben heute noch ca. 3500 ausgebildete Arbeitselefanten und ca. 3000 – 3500 wildlebende Elefanten (Stand 13. März 2017). Da der Holzeinschlag, bei dem domestizierte Elefanten jahrhundertelang als Arbeitselefanten eingesetzt wurden, seit 1989 verboten ist, können die Elefanten sich und ihren Inhabern nur noch in der Tourismusbranche ihren Lebensunterhalt einbringen. Die Elefanten haben ganze Familien ernährt – bis es keine Wälder mehr gab, die abgeholzt werden konnten. Die Tiere, die bis zu 80 Jahre alt werden können brauchten jedoch, ebenso wie die Menschen, weiterhin eine Lebensgrundlage. Tourismus war hier der einzige Weg. Mit dem Aufbau verschiedener Camps, die vor allem an kurzen Korbausritten ausgerichtet waren, begann diese Neupositionierung der Elefantenhaltung. Wir haben einen anderen Weg gewählt, um einerseits einen möglichst individuellen Kontakt zum Tier zu gewährleisten und andererseits den Elefanten ein entspanntes Leben im Tourismus zu ermöglichen.

Man muss den Tieren eine Zukunft bieten, indem man ihnen bei den Menschen ein möglichst naturnahes Leben bietet. Das ist in ihren ureigenen Bergen dann möglich, wenn wir mit ihnen diesen Weg gemeinsam beschreiten.