I found out about Chai Lai Orchid 6 years ago and since then it became one of my dreams to stay at this elephant sanctuary, have breakfast with the elephants and just live incredible experiences with this majestic creatures. This was not my first visit at an elephant sanctuary, we visited Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Phuket 6 years ago, which is another ethical elephant sanctuary in Thailand that I highly recommend.
After months of intense planning we finally made our dream come true when we arrived to Chiang Mai. Thailand was not in our trip itinerary, but we had to make a little detour to see a few beautiful temples and spend lovely moments with elephants.
try to chose carefully the sanctuary
I don’t want to be involved in anything that could harm an animal in any way, but I also like to be close to them in a respectful way, which makes Chai Lai Orchid a good choice. There are many companies that offer this kind of experience but not all of them are real. This sanctuary is inside a reserve where the elephants are free to go wherever they want, from the river to the jungle, to the main area of the sanctuary.
Look for companies which work sustainably, the ones who work with their local community, rather than those who hail their founders as heroes or who excessively promote “saving” elephants.
where is Chai Lai Orchid and how to get
The Chai Lai Orchid is located about an hour South-West of Chiang Mai and you can either hire a driver to get you there or they can set up transportation for you, even if you are just coming for the day.
You arrange everything with them via e-mail, or phone, only, sometimes they will not answer right away, because the place is situated in the mountains west of Chiang Mai and the internet is not always very fast, plus they work all day long, making our experience at the sanctuary unforgettable and taking care of the elephants. But once everything is settle, they will pick you up from Chiang Mai centre and one hour later you are in one of the most extraordinary place on Earth.
As soon as we arrived we were welcomed by the lovely staff and a two cute elephants. We made sure to make it for the happy hour. So imagine you arriving at your destination where you are greeted by elephants. I felt like I was dreaming.
breakfast with elephants
All huts gets visited in the morning by an elephant to feed them sugar cane. They bring your breakfast tray to your terrace and some snacks for the elephants, they will bring the elephants to your room so you can have breakfast with them, how fun is that? The elephants are incredibly gentle, however, they cannot resist the lure of a banana, so be a careful, because my elephant stole all the food in the basket I had for him. But I didn´t mind, it made the experience more fun.
After feeding the elephants, we were welcomed back to our private balcony with a beautifully arrange mat for our own breakfast with a view at the mountains.
a walk in the jungle
They have many activities for all type of visitors, you can chose a jungle expedition, a waterfall trekking trip, an overnight trip with a local tribe, a cooking class, or just relax in the main area of the sanctuary. We stayed here 3 days and one of them we chose the waterfall and the walk in the jungle, which I cannot recommend more. It was amazing.
The day started with breakfast with elephants, then our guide took us to feed more elephants and he also shared some information about the elephants and the sanctuary, then we had a 15 minutes walk with an elephant and then we continued our big day of adventure in the jungle, but without any elephants.
Another thing I would like to mention is.. be ready to get dirty. I have never ever got more dirty than in those 3 days. The place is very natural and when it rains it gets pretty dirty and you’ll get dirty. So bring proper shoes and clothes.
cocktails and lunch with elephants
There is also an onsite bar and restaurants where you can have “elephant happy hour” at 3.30 PM and you can meet and feed the elephants. It’s a very interesting experience. Here you can order a cocktail and settle in for some authentic Thai food while enjoying impressive mountain views. The vibe here is amazing and relaxing.
happy hour
When you plan your visit here, try to make sure you arrive on time for happy hour. What it means? They bring 2 elephants between 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM and you can feed them, take photos with them, or just watch them. You can purchase large baskets of bananas for 100 baht (2,50€), for feeding.
sleep in a hut with a mountain view
We stayed in two different huts, because of the high demand it was hard to book the same one. If you want a specific hut, or just any hut, make sure to book months in advance. There are tree types of bungalows to choose from : river, garden view and mountain view. Personally, I don’t think it matters what bungalow you choose, each of them are situated in very beautiful locations with impressive views, very tranquil and you can see the elephants in any of them.
there are doggies too
The place has also adopted a lot of dogs and puppies that walk around freely, and likely will visit you at your hut. They were all very friendly and happy and it added to the charm of the place.
why sanctuaries?
The elephants at this eco lodge are all rescued and you aren’t allowed to ride or harass these animals in anyway. They aren’t kept on chains or ropes, instead they use a mixture of free roaming, enclosures and tethering. At this point, many of us know how there are so many non ethical Elephant sanctuaries in Thailand.
Well here is comes the confusing part. There are almost no wild Elephants in Thailand. Because of poachers, illegal activities involving them, it became very dangerous to let them in the wild. They have been domesticated for thousands of years in Thailand. And nowadays is mostly related to tourism.
One reason to visit sanctuaries and places like this, is that it keeps the places funded and keeps the elephants away from poachers and many other horrible things that are done to them by some people.
daughters rising
By staying, visiting, donating or volunteering at Chai Lai Orchid, you help girls at risk to end trafficking, exploitation in their local communities. They work very hard to create as many opportunities as possible for women and girls. They help with education, employment and outreach.
Human traffickers prey on the most desperate and vulnerable. To end this inhumane practice, we must do more to shield migrants and refugees and particularly young people, women and children from those who would exploit their yearnings for a better, safer and more dignified future.
Madeleine 𓇼 