Ethical Elephant Sanctuaries in Chiang Mai: Five Compared
Ask one question before you pay: will you touch or feed an elephant, and what stands between you? ABTA calls contact or feeding without a barrier unacceptable. BEES enforces a no-touch rule, Elephant Pride has visitors observe without touching, and ChangChill has guests watch from a distance. Elephant Nature Park bans bathing but feeds on some programs.
Ask one question before you pay for an elephant day: will you touch or feed an elephant, and what stands between you? World Animal Protection calls tourist contact without a barrier unacceptable, and ABTA’s guidelines make the same call on contact or feeding. This page puts five venues beside that test with their rules, prices and booking terms, then answers it venue by venue.
Chiang Mai elephant sanctuaries: prices and rules at a glance
Prices are per adult for the day program each venue lists. Ratings are Google’s, read on 14 October 2026.
Venue
Day price
Stated contact rule
Google
Elephant Nature Park
THB 2,500 half day
No-riding walk
4.8
ChangChill
THB 1,900 half day
Watch from a safe distance
4.8
BEES
THB 2,500 walk
No touch, hands off
5.0
Elephant Pride
THB 2,000 half day
Observers, no touching
4.9
Karen Elephant Experience
THB 2,500 as Karen Elephant Serenity
Feeding fruit and bananas
4.9
Quick picks by need
Watching from a distance on a day trip: ChangChill or Elephant Pride.
Hands-off overnight stay: BEES.
Most programs to choose from: Elephant Nature Park.
Walk with feeding: Elephant Nature Park’s Walking with Elephants.
A day with your own transport: BEES Observation Walk.
Elephants by the stream at ChangChill.
What “ethical” means, and what to ask
Every elephant used for shows or unprotected close tourist contact will have gone through a training method known as the crush. In December 2019 it welcomed the UK travel association ABTA’s rule that contact and feeding without a barrier is unacceptable for the operators that adopt it.
That is a policy test, not a rating of any venue. Use it as three questions to put to any sanctuary before you book:
Is there any riding, or any show or performance for tourists?
Will you touch an elephant, or feed one without a barrier?
Who owns the elephants and what did the camp do before? ChangChill, for one, says its owner stopped riding activities at an earlier camp.
A no-riding walk, with no feeding listed; visitors may not bathe with elephants
Elephant Nature Park, Walking with Elephants and Care for Elephants
Feeding bananas on the walk and feeding in Care; no barrier
ChangChill
Guests watch from a distance; treats go into fencing and guests watch the elephants eat from a deck
BEES
No touch; bathing, patting and hand-feeding ended in 2018
Elephant Pride
No chains, hooks, cages or performances; no touching
Karen Elephant Serenity
Feeds fruit and bananas; no barrier stated
Elephant Nature Park: the widest menu of programs
Elephant Nature Park was founded by Saengduean “Lek” Chailert. It sells half days, a full-day SkyWalk visit, an overnight stay and several project days.
Forest at Elephant Nature Park.
The half-day morning visit is a guided walk with a no-riding policy. It costs THB 2,500 for an adult, THB 1,250 for ages 3 to 11 and THB 625 for ages 0 to 2. Visitors may not bathe with the elephants. On the afternoon visit, guests watch the herd bathe in the river.
Good for: a first visit that fits a morning, and families with a baby: the park has a rate for ages 0 to 2.
Good for: a longer day. The full-day SkyWalk visit includes time at the park’s Hands Off project and costs THB 3,500.
Skip if: you want no feeding at all. Stay with the half-day walk; Care for Elephants includes feeding and Walking with Elephants has you feed bananas on the walk.
Skip if: you book at the last minute. Online bookings close 24 hours before the visit and need a 30% deposit.
Programs at a glance:
Half-day afternoon: THB 2,500; the herd may wander to the river to bathe, never guaranteed.
Overnight, 2 days and 1 night: THB 5,800 with park huts.
Care for Elephants: THB 6,000, no children.
Sunshine for Elephants: a camp that stopped riding for a Saddle Off model.
The half-day price includes lunch, round-trip transport, admission, guides and insurance.
ChangChill: four elephants, watched from a distance
ChangChill is a small herd of four resident elephants that graze, bathe and socialize in the hills of Mae Wang. Its owner stopped riding activities at an earlier camp and rebuilt the venue after talks with World Animal Protection.
An elephant in the forest at ChangChill.
The full-day program has guests walk into the forest and watch the elephants from a safe distance. After lunch guests help fill feeding tubes with corn, sugar cane and bananas and prepare four servings of supplements for the four elephants.
Good for: a day of watching the herd from a distance, with guides answering questions.
Good for: a half-day option. The morning program costs THB 1,900, THB 1,500 for a child under 10.
Skip if: you want to touch or hand-feed. Guests watch from a distance and the treats go into fencing.
Skip if: you want an early finish. The half day returns you to the hotel at 3.00-3.30 PM.
The full day costs THB 2,500 per person and THB 1,800 for a child under 10. Lunch is Thai vegetarian food. The rest station sits above a mud pit where the elephants bathe and play, and guests watch from above.
BEES: overnight, hands-off, far out
BEES calls itself a pioneer in hands-off, observation-based elephant encounters. It enforces a strict No Touch, Hands-Off Policy on visitors. It adopted that policy in 2018 after allowing bathing, patting and hand-feeding in its early days. Its elephants roam freely by day and return to large enclosures at night.
Two elephants at the stream at BEES.
The all-inclusive programs start from THB 6,000. The 2 day and 1 night stay includes transfers, accommodation, meals and drinking water, and day 2 is a full-day hike through forest, field and stream observing the elephants.
Good for: a stay-over of 2 days or more with no touching.
Good for: guests with their own transport. The Observation Walk is THB 2,500 per adult and THB 1,800 for ages 10-17, with breakfast, lunch and parking included.
Skip if: you want a half day or travel with a child under 10. BEES allows neither.
Skip if: you need internet. There is no WiFi at the sanctuary.
Skip if: the road bothers you. The drive is 2.5 to nearly 3 hours on long, winding roads.
Skip if: you cannot hike, because BEES requires a moderate level of fitness.
Guests sleep in one of 7 private Thai-style rooms. A minimum of 2 participants is needed for the programs to run.
Elephant Pride Sanctuary: day trips in the Doi Inthanon area
Visitors at Elephant Pride are welcomed as observers, not participants. There are no chains, no hooks, no cages and no performances, and visitors observe without touching or controlling the animals.
Elephants and a calf at Elephant Pride Sanctuary.
Good for: a day trip with a no-touch rule and meals included.
Skip if: your hotel is more than 4 km from the Old City canal. That adds THB 500.
Skip if: you want a short day. The half-day tour lasts 7 hours.
The half-day tour costs THB 2,000 and the full-day tour THB 2,800. The full-day tour includes three Thai meals with seasonal fruit. The page asks guests to bring a change of clothes, T-shirt, towel, flip-flops and a swimsuit.
Karen Elephant Experience: check before you book
Elephant Nature Park described a Karen Elephant Experience in March 2016, in the Mae Wang area south of Chiang Mai city. Visitors walk beside the elephants, feed them and watch them in a mud pit. The owners agreed to stop renting their elephants to the trekking industry.
The park’s booking page now lists a single day visit named Karen Elephant Serenity at THB 2,500, half price for ages 2 to 11. Its operator page has visitors feed the elephants fruit, then bananas on a walk.
It takes 8-10 guests, suits ages 2 and over and takes 90 minutes to reach from the city. Nothing on either page ties it to the earlier program.
The entrance sign at Karen Elephant Experience.
Good for: a Karen-area day with walking and feeding, at THB 2,500.
Skip if: you want a no-feeding day. Both the 2016 post and Serenity have visitors feed the elephants.
Who each sanctuary suits, and who should skip it
A first elephant day, back by early afternoon: Elephant Nature Park’s morning half day.
Watching from a distance, with guides: ChangChill or Elephant Pride.
A stay-over with a strict no-touch rule: BEES, where half-day visits and children under 10 are not allowed.
A hands-on feeding day: Elephant Nature Park’s Care for Elephants or Walking with Elephants, not the no-touch venues.
A Karen-area day with walking and feeding: Karen Elephant Serenity.
A posted price for a no-touch day trip: Elephant Pride, THB 2,000 half day.
Elephant Nature Park: a hat, sunscreen, walking shoes, bug repellent and a water bottle, plus a rain jacket from May to October.
Elephant Pride: a change of clothes, towel, flip-flops and a swimsuit.
BEES: enclosed shoes that can get wet and dirty, and a torch. Cover knees and shoulders; no short shorts, miniskirts, bikinis or tank tops.
Children: Elephant Nature Park charges the child rate for ages 2 to 11. ChangChill has child prices under 10. BEES takes no child under 10. Karen Elephant Serenity suits ages 2 and over.
Infants and wheelchairs: Elephant Nature Park does not allow strollers on the half day, and its half-day programs have facilities for wheelchair users.
Health: BEES requires travel and medical insurance.
Cash: Elephant Nature Park takes no card payments on site.
Elephant Nature Park: a 30% deposit. Deposits are non-refundable. A cancellation within 4 days makes the balance payable. A date change costs THB 980 per booking.
BEES: a 20% non-refundable deposit for advance bookings. All payments are non-refundable. A change asked for more than 72 hours before arrival is credited to a future stay.
ChangChill, Elephant Pride and Karen Elephant Serenity: no cancellation rule on the pages. Ask for it in writing before you pay.
How to get to the sanctuaries
Pick-up times differ between venues, so read yours when you confirm.
Elephant Nature Park
Hotel pick-up for the morning half day is 7:30 to 8:00 am. The van takes about 90 minutes for the 65 km. The park’s city office is at 1 Ratmakka Road, open 07:00-17:00 daily, phone +66(0)53 272855.
Full-day pick-up is 7.30-8.00 AM and drop-off 4.30-5.00 PM. The drive takes one and a half hours. Its address is 45/2 Moo19, Baan Pratumuang, Maewin, Maewang, and the English-speaking WhatsApp number is (+66)86 329 3380.
Pick-up is between 8:30 and 9:00 AM inside the Old City moat square. Guests outside the square meet the transport at Wat Chai Siphum, and the driver waits a maximum of 20 minutes. If a flight, bus or train is delayed more than 20 minutes the program fee is forfeited.
Plan for 2.5 hours from Chiang Mai to nearly three hours from the Old City.
The sanctuary sits in the Doi Inthanon National Park area, 1.30 hr from Chiang Mai. Hotel pick-up is 8.15-8.30am and the return is at 5.00 pm. Contact is +66 822265957, and the office is at 198 Changklan Road.
Rice fields in the hills near Elephant Pride Sanctuary.Elephant Pride Sanctuary 198/521 Chang Khlan Sub-district, อำเภอเมือง Chiang Mai 50100, Thailand · Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Elephant Nature Park: the morning half day has lunch, then the drive back from 1:00 pm. The afternoon visit is when the herd may walk to the river.
ChangChill: open 09:00-17:00 daily, with arrival at 10:00-10:30 AM; the half day ends at 1:30 pm with drop-off from 3.00 PM.
BEES: the Observation Walk runs Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 8am to about 4-4:30 pm.
Elephant Pride: the half-day tour lists 7 hours and the full-day tour 8 hours.
Young elephants playing in a river at Elephant Nature Park.
Nearby and how to combine it
A morning half day at Elephant Nature Park leaves the afternoon free. Pair it with the city’s night markets in the evening, or with an evening cooking class. For a temple on the same trip, see Doi Suthep Temple.
Not confirmed: Cancellation terms at ChangChill, Elephant Pride and Karen Elephant Serenity are not published, so ask in writing before you pay. Whether Google's Karen Elephant Experience pin at Mae Win is the site that runs Karen Elephant Serenity.
What does ethical mean at an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai?
World Animal Protection's campaign lead called it unacceptable to use elephants for shows, rides, bathing or any other tourist contact without a barrier. Each venue then states its own rules, listed on this page.
Which Chiang Mai venues say there is no touching?
BEES enforces a strict No Touch, Hands-Off Policy. At Elephant Pride, visitors learn and observe without touching or controlling the animals. ChangChill has guests observe from a safe distance.
How much does a half-day elephant visit cost?
Elephant Nature Park charges THB 2,500 for a half-day morning adult. ChangChill charges THB 1,900 per person for its half-day morning program. Elephant Pride's half-day tour costs THB 2,000.
Can I visit BEES as a day trip?
Not with the sanctuary's transport. BEES has no drop-ins or half-day programs. Its Observation Walk is THB 2,500 per adult for guests with their own transport.
How far is each sanctuary from Chiang Mai?
ChangChill is a one and a half hour drive from the city. Elephant Pride is 1.30 hr from Chiang Mai. BEES is 2.5 hours away.
Do the day trips include lunch and hotel pick-up?
Elephant Nature Park's half-day includes a vegan buffet lunch and round-trip transport. ChangChill serves Thai vegetarian food on the full day and picks up between 7.30 and 8.00 AM.
When do bookings close?
Elephant Nature Park closes bookings 24 hours before the visit and asks for a deposit. BEES asks for a booking 2-3 days ahead for its Observation Walk.
Is Karen Elephant Experience still bookable?
Elephant Nature Park described the program in March 2016. Its booking page now lists a single day visit named Karen Elephant Serenity at THB 2,500. Nothing on either page ties it to the earlier program.
What happens if I cancel?
Elephant Nature Park keeps deposits and makes the balance payable in full if you cancel within 4 days. BEES treats all payments as non-refundable but credits a change asked for more than 72 hours ahead.
What should I bring?
Elephant Nature Park asks for a hat, sunscreen, walking shoes, bug repellent and a water bottle. BEES asks for enclosed shoes that can get wet and a torch.
General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.
