If you know anything about Thailand you’ll know that they are a home of the Asian Elephant. You simply can’t go to Thailand without having an interactive experience with their native animal. Elephants are such calm, gentle, beautiful creatures, and being able to experience the interaction with one in nature is a must for anyone. But how do you choose one experience over another? There are tons of elephant parks throughout the country. From the north, all the way to the south, exactly how do you pick one that you will be satisfied with?
Why I chose Elephant Nature Park
There are several reasons why I chose to go with ENP in Chiang Mai versus any other elephant reserve. After extensive research, I made a special day trip to northern Thailand so I can experience these amazing creatures for my very own unique experience. And it was an amazing experience indeed from the minute I got picked up. I was able to feed these beautiful mammals, bathe them, walk alongside, play with them and interact with them in a way I never imagined. I also learned so much about Elephants, the park, and the owners. It was an experience of a lifetime and I am so glad I chose to go with ENP.
Elephant Nature Park is all about love.
At ENP they want to provide a safe haven for rescued elephants (and other animals) that dealt with horrific experiences in the past including tourism work, trekking and logging industries throughout Thailand. These elephants have all been rescued and each has their own story. On the bus ride over to the park, we watched an incredible documentary that went into some of the stories of these beautiful creatures. Thought they were heartbreaking it was interesting to learn about the hardships these animals had to go through before they were rescued.
You don’t get to ride the elephants.
This might not be a big deal for a lot of people but here at Nature Park and to me, it means a lot. There were quite a few elephants here that were in the tourism industry as well as at the circus, their backs were extremely harmed from people riding these animals. We were able to see how deformed some of these elephant’s backs were which was so heartbreaking.
Elephant interaction.
This was my favorite part of the day spent at the park. I was able to interact with the elephants in a way I never imagined. From feeding them out of my own hand, being able to pet them, walk alongside them and even bathing them gave me an experience that was truly unique.
Volunteer programs.
Though I didn’t come on a volunteer program I was very moved and wanted information right away. ENP offers quite a few different volunteer works. From single day programs to week-long programs the work, compassion and love ENP provides to these animals through this program is incredible.
Seeing the joy in some of these elephants eyes warmed my heart, and knowing that there are people out there really only looking for their best interest and to help make the rest of their lives important and safe are just some of the reasons why I chose Elephant Nature Park over any other sanctuary.
Xoxo Ania travels 💜