Alreet!
Our first thought when we started planning to go to Asia was to find an elephant sanctuary to visit, which I'm sure is on many peoples bucket lists. We had heard that Chiang Mai was the place to visit if you wanted a real sanctuary and not a tourist spot that had no animal welfare in mind. We really wanted to find somewhere that cared for the animals properly so we spent a long time googling and searching for places that met our ethical standards. We found one in Chiang Mai called "Elephant Nature Park" that we agreed was the best option as it didn’t allow riding on the elephants; however we delayed booking until we were in Asia because we had heard a few horror stories of people having to pay twice for their ticket; once online and one when they got there.
So the time came when we were in the middle of Chiang Mai with nothing booked yet. We talked to our hotel trip advisor and contacted the sanctuary, but Elephant Nature Park was fully booked and didn't have an opening until long after we had left Chiang Mai. We were so disappointed, especially after having the issues with the floating markets in Bangkok only a few days prior. So (after a few arguments), we looked at the other leaflets that advertised sanctuaries in our hotel. We picked a few leaflets up and started to research places. We ruled out lots of camps on the basis that they had animals performing tricks. Not before long, we were down to the last leaflet; a place called ChangChill.
It didn't have many reviews online as it is relatively new. After a bit of research we found that ChangChill had previously been like almost all the other sanctuaries in Thailand that profited from elephant tourism. However they had decided to work with the animal welfare campaigns within Chiang Mai including World Animal Protection and changed what they provided for the tourists and for the six elephants they care for to create a standard of better health for the animals. Lonely Planet wrote an article on Chang Chill describing it as “the world’s first truly elephant-friendly camp”, and we decided to book it as soon as we read this. Our travel advisor in our hotel was lovely and happened to know the tour guide to the sanctuary so got us a small discount on a day ticket. We couldn't wait!
We set our alarms early in the morning and got up, dressed and out in time to meet our tour guide, who was absolutely lovely and had great English language skills. We got in her small rental car for an hour and a half drive up towards the mountains. We then got out and into a truck with a man who drove us up the mountain side to the sanctuary. Once dropped off we walked a short way to the sanctuary through a rice paddy field. The sanctuary had a few small huts and a larger metal structure which had a balcony to over look the paddy fields. It was truly breathtaking.
We laid our day bags down and were advised to place the wellies on that were laid out, as it had been raining over night and might be slippy. We were glad to see the wellies because Rachel only had sandals on! Pro tip: take socks to avoid blisters. Up the mountain side we trekked in search of some elephants.
We didn't have to walk for long before we came across our first one eating the branches from the trees. It was amazing to see such beautiful creatures in their natural habitats. The elephants are allowed to wander around the mountain side from morning till noon. They can go anywhere within the sanctuaries borders and are free to eat all the leaves and branches they like. Elephants need an enormous amount of food in order to sustain themselves, around 80% of an elephants day is spent consuming food!
They wander freely but with a mahout close by to keep them from going out of the borders of the conservation, which do not have fences. The mahout does not ride the elephant but they do carry a bull hook in their bags for safety precautions. It is never used to harm the elephant and you can see the mahouts have a strong bond with these animals without using any force. We never once felt like these animals were being mistreated or afraid of the mahouts. Some of these mahouts have inherited these animals and see the elephant as part of their family.
We headed down to the bathing area but unfortunately no elephants were washing, however we didn't mind as the guides prepare you that this is not a guarantee. The ground was extremely slippery when we were here - I guess that's our own fault for travelling during the rainy season in Thailand, but bear in mind no matter what the season, this is a trip for the fit and able-bodied! There were a few moments of slipping and at one point I almost fell down the mountain-side to a grisly death, which was of course Rachel's highlight of the day because she stood laughing for a good twenty minutes before she recovered. We were gripped to each other like fools while our guide and the mahouts glided with no bother around the mountain-side. Once we had trekked around the mountain in search of the 6 different elephants, we then headed back towards camp for lunch. We were greeted with plastic tubs filled with delicious asian cuisine like rice, curry, vegetables and noodles.
Once we had eaten our meals we were invited to place fresh corn in metal tunnels for the elephants to eat. The tunnels lay just below the metal canopy, so we carried big buckets full of corn down to the tunnels. These tunnels had holes along for the elephants to fish the corn out with their trunks. After this we got to make treats for the elephants called vitamin balls and consisted of banana, salt, leaves (with healing properties) and a sticky root, which was used as a laxative for the elephant, along with a few other ingredients. We placed them all in a pestle and mortar and took it in turns to grind it down. On the day of our visit we happened to be the only people booked to visit the camp, so it was amazing to have a one-on-one experience. However it did mean having to try extra hard to grind the ingredients down! Once they were mixed, we shaped them into bite-sized balls and gave them to the mahouts to feed the elephants. It was definitely a highlight to sit only metres away from these elephants while they picked the corn out and ate their vitamin balls.
We had the most fantastic day with Chang Chill. There is a clear sense of transparency in the way the camp is run and the our guide explained to us the changes in welfare standards in the camp. They honestly went beyond what we expected and what we knew to be “ethical”. At Chang Chill they have strict policies on no riding, no bathing or mud baths, no tricks or performing on command, no touching or feeding. This is an ethical standard they hope to inspire in other elephant camps around Thailand, and provides the elephants with the freedom to live in a wild environment where they can be safely observed from a distance. I really hope other sanctuaries see the progression of this one and change to met their standards. We know that everyone loves the idea of interacting with an exotic animal when you are travelling and it can be tempting to turn a blind eye to the conditions they live in to get a quick snap for your insta feed. Remember every photo with an exotic animal will inspire someone else to participate in the same tourism and encourages the cycle of abuse. If you want to have an elephant experience in Thailand we would really recommend Chang Chill. In retrospect, the other places we were looking at prior to booking may have been more famous and were still deemed “ethical” and “sanctuaries”, but after visiting Chang Chill we have learnt that many of the practices such as feeding sugary snacks, touching, and bathing is more trained behaviour that is benefitting the owners from the tourism industry and doesn’t represent true conservation. And in the same vein, if you want to visit exotic wildlife elsewhere in the world, be sure to do your research.
Howay, hoyin' oot time.
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