Combo de Observação e Atividades no Joy Elephant Sanctuary Chiang Mai

What a surreal experience to be so close to these beautiful animals. The elephants are well treated by their trainers, fed and walked several times a day. For anyone considering booking: it's about a 75-minute drive from the hotel areas in Chiang Mai. There's a coffee and restroom break shortly after the van is full. Once you reach the destination, you'll jump into some 4x4s and go off-road for about 10-15 minutes to the actual camp, which is about a 10-15 minute walk down some terrain. If you are older or have bad knees, this might not be for you. You can still do it, just take your time. We had feeding time with the elephants and went on a 30-45 minute walk with them. Then we had the provided Pad Thai and fruit lunch. Then we went home. Pick-up was around 6:15 AM and we were dropped off around 1:30 PM. But what a GREAT experience!

The experience was amazing. A truly ethical sanctuary. No touching, bathing, or riding the elephants. Just feeding and observing. Note that there is also a hike trail with the elephants, so you must be ready with the right shoes. I also enjoyed making the inhaler as a personal souvenir. :)

What a great way to start our trip, seeing the lovely and cute elephants, especially Ellie! The entire group enjoyed the encounter, especially feeding time. It was extremely hot and humid during the hike, and it was nice that we could soak afterwards in a nearby small waterfall.

This was by far one of the greatest experiences of my life!!! My wife and I thought the sanctuary was very ethical. We didn’t ride the elephants or touch them. We did, however, get to feed them and walk with them through the jungle. I highly recommend bringing shoes that you don’t care about because you will be walking up and down steep hills. We also got a chance to go to a lake where the elephants grazed while we were able to hang out in the water. They fed us, let us make our own inhalers and took a wonderful water raft. I highly suggest bringing your phone while on the raft. There are other elephant sanctuaries in the area, and there is a large possibility that one of the elephants from their sanctuary may be going to hang out in the water at the same time as your water raft.

The elephant sanctuary was so nice!! The staff was very respectful and really emphasized their mission. Currently all female domesticated elephants live at their sanctuary. There are no touching, swimming, or touch based interactions with the elephants, which is what my friends and I were looking for. 100% ethical. The only interaction you really have with them is feeding them fruit and taking a walk with them. We always stayed a safe distance away from the animals as well. 100% would recommend this tour!

We love our tour with Joy Elephant Sanctuary. We could really feel that the people who worked there truly cared for the elephants. We did not ride, bathe or touch the elephants, we simply observed them as they go about their day. We also joined the elephants as they take their morning hike after their morning snacks. The elephants looked happy and very well looked after. We really enjoyed this sanctuary and would recommend it to anyone looking for an ethical sanctuary.

A heartwarming day. I highly recommend Joy Elephant Sanctuary. You can't touch the elephants and need to maintain a 5m distance. We quietly and respectfully trekked through the jungle, rested, and enjoyed nature with the elephants. Elephants are reliable and brave; even just half a day with them made me feel their distinct temperament and strength. The staff were very humorous and friendly; they and the elephants healed me. I wish I could stay and be an elephant too!

the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!!the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!! the besttt!!!

J'ai adoré. Chaque partie ! Le guide éléphant, Shy, était super compétent et passionné par les éléphants. Le sommet était génial ; j'aurais pu y passer un peu plus de temps. La randonnée et le village de la tribu montagnarde étaient époustouflants. Tellement beau. Vraiment une façon parfaite de voir une partie de Chiang Mai ✌️👋🎉 Profitez-en !

It's quite difficult to find a decent, genuinely ethically ran elephant sanctuary these days but after much searching, Joy is the real deal. Hotel pick up was swift and on time and once there the guides were clear and professional. The elephants were not forced to interact with us. They had their designated snack time (they are fed regular meals by their keepers) which we gave them, and we were invited to walk with them afterwards, several metre distance, no touching. Afterwards we could clean off in the sanctuary’s stream, the elephants were not made to come, but they are given free reign to come and go as they please, and they came. It was a wonderful sight. The rafting add on was well worth it, and we were lucky enough to do so in a storm! The torrential rain added to the atmosphere. (I’ll add that the guides ensured that the route was safe first before sending us down!)