Ethical Elephant Sanctuary | Chiang Mai | Thailand
Experience an amazing day with a small herd of elephants including majestic elephant brothers, Kham Meun, and Dodo, and two beautiful female elephants at this special elephant sanctuary. Rescued from elephant riding and performing, the elephants now live a better life together in nature near a century-old Karen hill tribe settlement. The goodhearted Karen family operating the project has been caring for elephants for three generations and their intimate knowledge of elephants and their ways provides visitors with a unique insight into the nature of these gentle giants as well as Karen culture.
Arriving at the project, visitors dress in traditional Karen shirts, prepare food and feed the elephants. Then, walk along scenic hillside trails, pausing to observe the elephants below foraging amidst tall grasses and jungle terrain. Later, watch the elephants drinking from beautiful stream that winds through the sanctuary and cover themselves with mud. During the rainy season, help with reforestation efforts, while learning about rice cultivation.
Witnessing the bond between these elephants is fascinating as they roam, forage, and interact with each other. Karen Elephant Home is committed to the well-being of the elephants and focuses is on giving the elephants the space and freedom to do as they wish, whether it’s relaxing in the stream during the hot season or exploring the sanctuary. This project does not offer elephant bathing, and instead encourages visitors to enjoy watching the elephants from a respectful distance. Your visit not only provides these magnificent animals with a more authentic, natural existence, but also supports the local Karen community.
Karen Elephant Home Trip Highlights
DRESS IN KAREN CLOTHING
FEED THE ELEPHANTS
WALK WITH ELEPHANTS
OBSERVE ELEPHANTS
WATCH ELEPHANTS BY THE STREAM
PREPARE HEALTH BALLS FOR THE ELEPHANTS
LEARN ABOUT KAREN WEAVING
CRAFT ELEPHANT DUNG STATUES
Observe elephants in a beautiful natural environment and gain insights into elephant behavior from a Karen family who have been caring for elephants for generations
Walk with Elephants
Feed Elephants
Observe Elephants
Watch Elephants in the Stream
Activities
- Dress in traditional Karen clothing
- Get to know the elephants while feeding them bananas & grass
- Take a scenic walk along flat terrain, observing elephants foraging below
- Watch the elephants cover themselves with mud or sand
- Observe the elephants relaxing in the stream and drinking water
- Learn about Karen culture and planting rice in the rainy season
- Enjoy a vegetarian buffet lunch, overlooking beautiful scenery
- Prepare banana rice health balls and feed them to the elephants
- Discover the art of Karen weaving & learn about their hand made textiles
- Craft unique statues from elephant dung
Tour Details
Number of Guests: 8-10
Tour Type: Full Day Visit
Pick Up: 8:00-8:30am Chiang Mai hotel
Drop Off: 4:00-4:30pm Chiang Mai hotel
Fitness Level: Easy to Moderate
Age Suitability: Adults & Children 4+
* Minimum of 4 people required for this tour to proceed
What's Included
- Round trip transportation from Chiang Mai city
- Food for the elephants
- Freshly prepared vegetarian buffet lunch
- Admission fee & accident insurance
- Qualified English speaking tour guide
What to Bring
Hat / Cap | Sunscreen | Insect repellent | Camera | Walking Shoes / Trainers | Clothes you don’t mind getting sweaty or dirty | Passport number | You may get hot on the walk with the elephants so you may also want to bring clothes to change into at the end of the day.
Tour Price
Adults & Children 12+: 2,500 Thai Baht
Children 4-11 yrs old: 1,250 Thai Baht
Adults & Children 4+
Easy
Vegetarian Buffet Lunch
Transportation
The Elephants at Karen Elephant Home
Activities at Karen Elephant Home
Ethical Elephant Tours
This is a small Saddle Off project with a limited number of guests. Our model is based on ensuring the well-being of the elephants, which means no riding or other unnatural activities.
Karen Elephant Home Reviews
The Story & Location of Karen Elephant Home
Karen Elephant Home is an ethical elephant sanctuary, located next to a Karen hill tribe village, south of Chiang Mai, and is home to two handsome, gentle natured bull elephant brothers, Dodo and Kham Meun. Mae Thor Khor, Dodo and Khum Meun’s mother, used to live with them at the sanctuary, but sadly passed away from natural causes in her 70’s in 2018. Over time the brothers adjusted to the loss of their mother and happily spend their days together in nature. More recently they have been joined by a senior female elephant, Mae Kha Pha.
The project closed to visitors in February 2020 due to the Covid pandemic and opened again in October, 2023. During this time the Karen family expanded their organic farm to make ends meet and project owner, Krieng Krai taught organic agriculture cultivation at the Royal Project. The elephants were cared for by their mahouts and were supported by many kind-hearted people from around the world.
Over this time many changes were made at the project and new structures built, including a bridge across the river, bamboo stairs and walkways, a feeding platform, a simple café, a lunch area, bathrooms, a traditional house and improvements made to the elephant’s night shelter. Thanks to Trunks Up and Karen Elephant Connections for enabling these improvements to be made and for supporting the elephants at Karen Elephant Home.
About Your Trip
Start: 8:00am – 8:30am minivan pick up from your Chiang Mai city hotel, or from our office at 8:00am. If staying out of town, far from Chiang Mai city center you will need to arrange your own transportation to our office.
Travel Time: Around 1 hour & 40 minutes (safety talk en route to project). The last part of the journey to Karen Elephant Home is along some winding mountain roads.
Return: Arrive back in Chiang Mai city 4:00pm – 4.30pm.
Baggage Allowance: One small day pack per person.
What to Bring: Camera, hat, sunscreen, sandals/flip flops, walking shoes, insect repellent, change of clothing for the trip home (as you may get sweaty during the walk).
Facilities: Café overlooking the stream, lunch area, bathrooms, bamboo walkways & feeding platform.
Items Provided: Traditional Karen shirts, hats, ponchos & umbrellas in the rainy season.
Age Suitability: Adults & children over 4 – guests under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Fitness Level: Easy to Moderate – walking along mainly flat terrain for about 1 hour.
Topography: Hills, forest, stream, lotus ponds, terraced rice paddies in the rainy season.
Extra Activities: Learn about Karen culture and traditions, including planting and cultivating rice in the rainy season and watch Karen woman weaving handmade textiles.
Location: Mae Wang, South of Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.
Nearest Airport: Chiang Mai (CNX) – we recommend you stay in Chiang Mai city the night before your visit. Please note that we cannot collect you from Chiang Mai Airport – only from your Chiang Mai city hotel / guesthouse.
Booking Details: Bookings close at 4pm (GMT+7) on the day before the date of your tour if made in person at our office or 24 hours in advance if booking online. A 30% non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place. The balance can be paid by cash to the tour guide on the day of your tour or by credit card (+3%) at our Chiang Mai office by 5pm on the day before your tour.
Karen Elephant Home Reviews
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About the Elephants
Kham Meun
Khum Meun was born in 1997 and was the fourth calf of Mae Thor Khor, who passed away from natural causes in 2018. He is easily identifiable by his one long glorious tusk. The other tusk fell out after becoming infected some years ago following an accident at a trekking camp. Early in his life, Khum Meun spent 6 years performing in a circus and was later used for bareback riding at a trekking camp. Since 2016, Khum Meun has lived at Karen Elephant Home with the Karen family who cared for him when he was a baby. Today he spends his days wandering the sanctuary with his younger brother, Dodo. The two brothers get along very well and supported each other after the loss of their mother in 2018. Interestingly, they also share the same father so are closely tied genetically as well. Kriengkrai, the project owner believes that Khum Meun and his brother are from a subspecies of Asian elephant found in Thailand and Burma, distinguished by particularly long legs, smaller ears, and a more pronounced curve in their backs than other Asian elephants. Despite Khum Meun’s imposing size, he has a kind, gentle nature.
Dodo
Dodo was born in 2002, and was the fifth calf of Mae Thor Khor. When he was born, Dodo's health was in a fragile state and he required special care. When he was older, Dodo walked beside his mother while she did elephant riding at an elephant camp and later performed in shows. With those days of hardship behind him, Dodo has relaxed into sanctuary life and enjoys the company of his older brother as they wander the hillside, foraging and playing in the mud and river together. Like his brother, Dodo has an easy going nature and is very friendly towards people despite past hardships. He can sometimes be heard making high pitched squeaking sounds, which he learned to do as part of his performances. Dodo only makes those sounds now because he wants to, for example when he’s excited. Dodo is easily recognized by his two small tusks – such a handsome bull elephant. His life is infinitely better since coming to live at Karen Elephant Home. Dodo and his brother Khum Meun now have a lot space with the freedom to roam the beautiful natural surroundings of the sanctuary and just be elephants.
Thank You for Supporting the Elephants at Karen Elephant Home
The Covid pandemic caused severe challenges around the world and placed extreme limitations on travel. As a result, Karen Elephant Home closed to visitors in February, 2020 and only reopened again in October 2023. We would like to thank all of the kind hearted people who gave fruit cakes and food gifts to the elephants and supported Kham Meun & Dodo during these difficult times.
Life During Covid at Karen Elephant Home
The Covid-19 crisis had a dramatic impact on the elephants with the absence of tourists for over 3 years. Krieng Krai, together with the mahouts, cared for Dodo and Kham Meun well. Elephants need to consume vast quantities of food each day and with no guests it was difficult to provide for them sufficiently. During this time Kham Meun and Dodo, spent their days wandering in the grassy fields, walking up the mountain, foraging in the forest, swimming in the stream, and playing in the mud. Thanks to many kind hearted supporters of Asian Elephant Projects, Kham Meun and Dodo were given many delicious fruit cakes and platters of fruit and vegetables to share over the past few years. Having never eaten a fruit cake before the elephants were always very excited to see their cakes and didn’t leave until every last piece of fruit was eaten. The two brothers shared their cakes and fruit treats so peacefully, standing side by side and savoring every morsel. We would like to thank everyone who supported our elephants during these challenging times.
In order to survive during Covid and support his family, project owner, Krieng Krai focused on expanding his organic farm and grew a variety of vegetables. In addition to growing rice, he has also set up several greenhouses where organic lettuce and other green leafy vegetables were grown.
Project Background
The owner of this project, Kriengkrai Dinu, and his family have worked with and cared for elephants for over three generations. He previously spent time at the Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang where he received further training in working with elephants. When he heard about the Saddle Off model he seized the opportunity to bring his elephants home where they could be retired from elephant riding and be properly cared for in the hills near his Karen village. The project opened in late August 2017, and is located next to a century-old Karen settlement surrounded by hills, forest and rice paddies with a beautiful stream running through it. It is home to four elephants including two male elephant brothers, Khum Meun and Dodo who used to work in trekking camps as well as a senior female elephant, Mae Ka Pha, and a younger female elephant, Mo Ser Bley who was rescued in 2025. Kham Meun and Dodo's mother, Mae Thor Kor, used to live at the project with her two sons but sadly she passed away in late 2018 from old age. The family wants to help preserve Karen culture and aims to provide visitors a glimpse of the traditional Karen way of life. Visitors learn about handmade Karen textiles and can also craft statues from elephant dung.
How Karen Elephant Home is Eco Friendly & Sustainable
- Food grown on site for the elephants, including grasses and banana trees.
- All crops are grown organically - no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
- Bananas and sugarcane for the elephants are purchased from local farmers as well as vegetables and fruit for the guests.
- In 2018, the family planted over 1000 trees known as Jaan Tong Tet on the hillside.
- Elephant dung is used to fertilize the gardens and trees.
- Rubbish is recycled and food scraps are given to the pigs.
- Initiated a ‘Keep it Green' project aimed at teaching about the need to reduce plastic use & keep the village clean. On Sundays, children from the village help pick up garbage & sort it for recycling - the money received is shared among the kids.