The number one thing to see in Southeast Asia was the elephants. They are such beautiful creatures and I have longed to see them up close and personal for as long as I can remember. I knew that a lot of places offer tours but they aren’t always good places and they treat the animals cruelly, so I was determined to see elephants responsibly.
Responsible Elephant Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand
As cool as riding them would be, I don’t like how they are treated in the places that offer rides. Unfortunately, while in Bangkok seeing the floating markets, unbeknownst to us beforehand, they took my mom and me to one where the animals were forced to wear costumes, give rides, and pose for pictures. You could see in their eyes how sad they were. I left in tears after 5 minutes.
Where to See Elephants Responsibly in Chiang Mai, Thailand
After that, I wanted to make sure wherever I would be visiting elephants was ethical and not abusive. So when we traveled up to Chiang Mai, the opportunity came up to go to an elephant sanctuary and refuge. And boy, what a difference in the two places… You can see how happy I (and the elephants) am in all these photos, my smile is as wide as can be!
Ran-Tong: Save & Rescue Elephant Center
G Adventures recommended Ran-Tong: Save & Rescue Elephant Center as an activity while in Chiang Mai, assuring that the elephants were treated well (and they were not wrong!). We drove about an hour out to the park from Chaing Mai. Upon arrival, we were given superrrrr hot uniforms to wear 
Feeding baby elephants
After brief instruction, we were led out to the field where the elephants basically roam free. The first elephant we came up to was a “little” guy, just nearly a year old but still weighing over 1000 pounds.
A couple of people have asked why he has a rope around his neck. It’s basically like a leash we use for dogs. Many of the young elephants don’t realize their strength, and when they get excited, they can accidentally knock down visitors! It is just for precaution and guidance.
These cute babies are so lively and playful! This one kept trying to steal my water bottle from me!
Preparing "Dessert" for Elephants
After playing with the babies, the handler took us over to cut up sugar cane: an elephant’s favorite dessert! It’s no easy task cutting the sugar cane up with a machete, but it was worth it to see the elephants go crazy for it. And no, it’s not lost on me that we were paying to basically do the trainers chores haha!
Feeding Elephants - Responsible Elephant Sanctuary
Armed with our baskets full of “dessert,” we headed back to the open field where the elephants seemed to have multiplied! There were so many of them, all eager to get a trunkful of the goodies in our baskets.
It’s hard to put into words what it’s like being so up close to these gentle giants. Some people were a little timid approaching them (and rightfully so, they can weigh up to 5 tons!), but I couldn’t help but be next to them. Even the ones with giant tusks, I just walked right and gave them a nice pat.
I know it sounds crazy, but you really could see in their eyes how happy and well taken care of these elephants were. It is an experience I will never forget. They are such beautiful creatures!
See Elephants Responsibly: Giving Elephants a Mud Bath
Since elephants can’t sweat like us to keep cool, they prefer a mud bath to protect from the sun (like the one above rolling around in the dirt). And that’s exactly what we helped them do next! We literally got knee deep in a mud pit with the elephants and rubbed it all over them.
The elephants were completely relaxed and just rolled over in the mud letting us rub them down. They were in elephant heaven… and so was I
The handlers had a secret word that they’d say to get the elephants to spray mud all over you!
Bathing Elephants in Thailand
After the mud spa, we walked them over to be bathed off in the river. These elephants are so pampered!
This sweet little elephant hugged me the entire way to the river. How precious is he!? I was seriously on cloud 9.
See Elephants Responsibly: Swimming with Elephants instead of riding!!
Once in the river, the elephants just started leisurely laying around, swimming in the water with us!
I had to take a moment to let it sink all in: I was swimming with elephants in a river in the middle of Thailand. SWIMMING WITH ELEPHANTS!! It’s something I will never forget.
Why You Shouldn't Ride Elephants in Thailand
Riding an elephant seems like it would be really fun and cool, but you have to remember the majority of those kinds of places don’t treat the animals well.
Getting the experience taking care of these gentle giants was far more rewarding and fun than riding around on top of them for a couple minutes. I urge you to do the same when visiting Thailand: do your research and find an ethically responsible place!
I hope you enjoyed this post on how to see elephants responsibly in Thailand — and all the cute photos! Have you ever had an experience with elephants? I’d love to see your pics as well 
Leave a comment or send me a DM on Instagram!
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xx Chels
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This is amazing!! I want to spend a couple weeks at a place like this one day. I’m so glad you went the responsible tourism route
Yes! It was so amazing, definitely the highlight of my trip!!
Thanks for posting this!! ❤️
Awesome! And especially you look really happy in these pictures 🙂
Great that not all tourist places with elephant have to be torture for the animals.