Thai Elephant Conservation Center

Though there are several elephant camps in the vicinity of Chiang Mai, it’s worth making the extra effort to get out to this place (located 35km from Lampang and 65km from Chiang Mai), as it not only features elephant shows, elephant rides and mahout training courses, but also provides the country’s only elephant hospital and a home for ten white elephants belonging to the king.

Since the facility is government-run, the TECC has a less commercial air about it than other elephant camps in the country and visitors get a sense of genuine concern for the creatures that live here. The center functions much like other commercial elephant camps in that visitors have the chance to watch elephants bathing, then watch a show displaying the elephants’ considerable skills in dragging and stacking logs, and finally take a ride on one of these gentle giants. For a 10-minute ride it’s 200B, for 30 minutes it’s 500B, or 1,000B for an hour.

Elephant shows these days also feature demonstrations of painting, in which the pachyderm Picassos produce abstract or realistic paintings using their trunk to hold the paintbrush, as well as musical performances. For the latter, the Thai Elephant Orchestra, featuring up to 14 jumbo musician with custom-made instruments, put on the best show in the land and you’ll likely want to dance along as they play, and perhaps even pick up their latest CD as well.

For real elephant aficionados, there is an opportunity to join a one-, two- or three-day homestay program, costing from 3,500B-9,500B, in which they spend all their time with one elephant, washing it, feeding it and riding bareback through the jungle.