Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Chiang Mai

If you want elephants without the riding, the painting or the circus routines, this is the operation most people in Chiang Mai end up booking. The camps sit in Karen hill country at Mae Wang, roughly 60km southwest of the city, and the herds live in semi-wild family groups rather than a line of chained animals waiting for tourists. The day is built around care, from cutting sugarcane, rolling vitamin balls, hand-feeding, then watching the elephants flop about in the river mud. The Karen hosts tell you where each animal came from, which is the part that tends to stick with people.

Go in with the right expectations. It's popular, so you won't have the place to yourself, and you will get filthy. Bring clothes you don't care about and something to change into. Half-day, full-day and overnight programs are all on the books, and each includes hotel pickup from Chiang Mai, so you don't need to sort transport. The half-day suits most people. The overnight is for anyone who wants the quiet hours after the day groups have gone.