Kombinácia pozorovania a aktivít v slonej rezervácii Joy Elephant Sanctuary Chiang Mai

what a surreal experience being sooooo close to these beautiful animals. Elephants well treated by the trainers. they get fed and walked several times a day. to anyone considering booking: it’s about a 75 minute drive from the hotels areas in Chiang Mai. there is one coffee and rest room break shortly after the van is filled up. once you get to the destination you’ll jump into some 4x4s and off road for about 10-15 minutes to the actual cam which is about a 10-15 minute walk down some terrain. if you are older or have bad knees this may not be the thing 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 had the provided pad Thai and fruit lunch. then went home. pick up was about 615am and we got dropped off around 130pm. but what a GREAT experience.

Great morning spent with Tour guide Parkin (hopefully thats correct) who has lots of knowledge and passion for the elephants at Joy sanctuary. The morning spent observing the elephants, feeding them then walking with them up the mountain to the waterfall. Magical morning finished off with a lovely meal and making your own inhaler. Fully recommend.

令人心软的一天。非常推荐Joy elephant sanctuary这个大象保护营地，不可触摸大象&需保持5m距离，就这样安静而互相关照地和大象一起穿越丛林、休憩、享受自然～ 大象可靠而勇敢，仅仅是共处半日也体会到如此鲜明的气质与力量。工作人员非常幽默友善，他们和大象一起治愈了我～那那那……我也想留下来当大象啊！

The experience was amazing. A truly ethical santuary. No touching, bathing, 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. Also enjoyed doing the inhaler personal souvenir. :)

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 morninh 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.

ČO POTREBUJETE VEDIEŤ (pozorovanie slonov a splav na bambusovej plti): prineste si topánky/sandále vhodné na turistiku, ktoré sa môžu namočiť/zašpiniť, náhradné oblečenie a uterák, vodotesné puzdro na telefón s popruhom a repelent proti hmyzu! Vyzdvihnutie bolo priamo z nášho Airbnb a potom 2-hodinová jazda v 12-miestnej dodávke s klimatizáciou. Poradie udalostí bolo: vzdelávanie o slonoch, kŕmenie ovocím, krátka túra so slonmi, oddych a pitie čaju/kávy pri pozorovaní slonov, obed (pad Thai a ovocie), výroba bylinného inhalátora a nakoniec splav na bambusovej plti. Priniesli sme si batoh a nechali ho v dodávke počas splavu na bambusovej plti (dodávka nás čakala na konci, kde sú toalety a prezliekárne). Vaše spodné časti OBLEČENIA SA URČITE NAMOČIA! Odvoz bol priamo späť do nášho Airbnb.

V dnešnej dobe je dosť ťažké nájsť slušnú, skutočne eticky vedenú sloniu rezerváciu, ale po dlhom hľadaní je Joy tou pravou. Odvoz z hotela bol rýchly a načas a po príchode boli sprievodcovia jasní a profesionálni. Slony neboli nútené s nami interagovať. Mali svoj určený čas na občerstvenie (pravidelne ich kŕmia ich ošetrovatelia), ktoré sme im dali, a potom sme boli pozvaní prejsť sa s nimi, vo vzdialenosti niekoľkých metrov, bez dotyku. Následne sme sa mohli očistiť v potoku rezervácie, slony neboli nútené prísť, ale majú voľnosť prichádzať a odchádzať, ako sa im páči, a prišli. Bol to úžasný pohľad. Splavovanie na rafte sa oplatilo a mali sme šťastie, že sme to zažili v búrke! Prudký dážď pridal na atmosfére. (Dodám, že sprievodcovia najprv zabezpečili, aby bola trasa bezpečná, predtým ako nás poslali dole!)

What a great way to start our trip seeing the lovely and cute elephants especially Ellie 🙂the entire group enjoyed the encounter especially the feeding time. it’s extremely hot and humid during the hike and it’s nice that we can soak afterwards to a nearby small waterfall.