Welcome to Koh Phangan Elephant Trekking

Are you looking for a little adventure during your holiday? If you are, then how about a ride on an elephant? Where else will you have the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed ride on mountain paths through the palm forests on the back of a gentle elephant?

To the Thai people, elephants symbolize strength an therefore, they are worshipped in a special way. A lot of artwork, temples and souvenirs are often decorated with elephants. Moreover, in Thailand, anyone who murders or even beats an elephant may face imprisonment for up to thirty years.

In the past, elephants worked in logging camps in the rain forests of northern Thailand. Nowadays machines have taken over the elephant's job of logging and consequently, elephants and their handlers, or mahouts are out of work. The mahout, who is often the elephant's owner, is with the elephant for decades and is solely responsible for its care. Many mahouts are trying to create new job opportunities for themselves and their elephants by offering elephant rides to eager tourists.

Right now, eight elephants live at our trekking facility which is approximately ten thousand square meters with a small lake where the where the elephants bathe daily. Our facility was designed to meet the special needs of our precious pachyderms. They even receive a yearly check-up from a government appointed veterinarian. He checks their health, immunizes them and makes sure that they are being properly cared for. And so, life for the elephants here in southern Thailand is much easier than in the logging camps of the north. There, elephants had to work very hard dragging and moving huge hardwood trees and only had life expectancies of fifty or sixty years. In contrast carrying tourists is an easy walk in the park and here they can live for eighty or even one hundred years!

Come and have a look at our facility. If you are driving east from Baan Tai, the trekking entrance is located approximately two kilometers before Baan Thapong. If you come in the early morning or late afternoon you may have the opportunity to meet our elephants while they are having their daily bath. While there you can play with our friendly monkeys or feed "Champion", our baby elephant. He loves bananas.

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