A Visit to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
Along the Bumpy Road
Elephants were an absolute must-see for us during our time in Thailand. We had done a lot of research on the best, cruelty-free ways to see elephants. Dozens of companies will offer you elephant rides or circus events with these animals. However, these events are often hubs of animal exploitation. We decided that visiting the elephant jungle sanctuary in Phuket would be a great way to see these animals and help to contribute to their wellbeing.
We arrived for our day at the elephant jungle sanctuary after being picked up from our accommodation in Phuket by a driver they sent. We hopped onto the loading deck of the Pick-up truck and headed off.
It was a bumpy ride to the sanctuary, as we got closer, the excitement was palpable. We finally got our first glimpse of the elephants to the left-hand side of the truck. The size of these magnificent animals is almost indescribable. They are just… so… huge!
That is One Hungry Elephant!
We watched in awe as these amazing creatures plodded around, enjoying their daily lives, almost oblivious to the recruits who had just arrived.
We were lead over to our guide. A hilarious and knowledgeable man, he told us all about the elephants and how they funded the projects at the sanctuary. He gave us a lot of information about the amount of food used to feed the elephants. We learnt that one elephant eats around 140kg of food per day! From this sheer quantity, it is easy to see why the sanctuary desperately relies on tourism.
Something which neither of us expected was how taken aback we would be about these elephants’ stories. Many of them had suffered awful injuries across their bodies and were missing parts of their ears’. The elephants got these injuries whilst working for the circus or in the logging industry. These stories are quite hard to hear.
We wanted to find out the reason that the sanctuary almost exclusively rescued older, female elephants.
The truth, while sad, is highly logical.
The older, bull elephants remain useful to people who use elephants for work as they can still breed them, unlike the older females. Therefore, each bull elephant is expensive and difficult for the sanctuary to obtain. The same is true for younger elephants, who can work for a longer time and make more money for their owners.
The sanctuary takes such care of these older elephants in the later stages of their lives. It is truly a wonderful feeling to be able to experience some of this work, actively contributing physically and financially.
After the talk with our guide, we were finally able to approach these magnificent animals.
Their stature and build were just incredible. Elephants are brilliant creatures. To see them up close is such a humbling experience.
At this point, we had to grab some buckets full of watermelon and feed the elephants.
It’s hard to find the words to describe the feeling of an animal so huge gently taking the piece of fruit from your hand. We spent some time there, with one member of the team spraying the animals with a hose to cool them down and keep them comfortable in the hot sun, and the rest of us feeding them.
The Mighty Jungle
The next part of our sanctuary experience was such a treat. We got to hike with these amazing animals through the jungle. Something which we should mention at this point – Originally, we had booked the half-day tour with the elephants, but we loved it so much we booked the whole afternoon there. Heck, it was so worth it to spend more time with these animals, especially in the jungle!
We trekked up some pretty steep slopes. We found ourselves out of breath as the elephants, almost mockingly, calmly plodded up the hills.
It was just sensational to see these elephants in the environment where they should have always been living. You could see their contentment eating the plants found in all directions and strolling through this beautiful habitat.
Something equally amazing was the bond between the elephants and their carers. Each elephant has its own carer. A carer is a person that the elephants trust. They feed them, clean them and care for them every day of the year. The elephants follow instructions from their carers based on this trusting relationship. We found this relationship very moving. This work must be incredibly demanding and, yet, the carers have forged such a strong bond with these elephants.
During our trek through the jungle, we learnt more about the local people in the surrounding areas of the sanctuary. We learnt how the locals work in such a remote area, focussing on the extraction of rubber from trees. There, we even saw parts of the rubber extraction process taking place. This made us feel so connected with the local area and wildlife.
Time for a Snack
Heading back to the elephant jungle sanctuary, we ate some surprisingly good Pad Thai and Curry. It was delicious and made with care at the sanctuary.
After lunch, we headed over to the adjacent part of the sanctuary. We had a cooling dip in the small waterfall there. The area surrounding the sanctuary is sensational. It is very natural and truly beautiful. There are natural springs and excellently preserved forests.
Mud-Scrub, Anyone?
A larger number of people gathered together at this point for what was a hilarious finale to our day. It was time to give the elephants a mud-scrub and wash. This process is important for their skin. It cools them down after a long day.
It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon. Firstly, we had to hop into a swamp of knee-deep mud. Then, we had to grab a pan and rub mud all over the elephants.
The best thing about this is that you can feel how much the elephants love this part of the day. Seeing the elephants squelching and rolling around in the thick mud was very precious.
The elephant we were cleaning was called Dara. Dara decided she wanted to roll around in the mud which meant we had to step back very briskly to avoid being squished or covered head to toe in mud. After this, the elephants are lead to a pool of cleaner water where they rinse off the worst of the mud.
The elephants and tourists alike are then lead to something quite bizarre. It is a purpose-built shower made that these elephants and the tourists can get all of the mud off them, it’s not often that you get to shower with an elephant!
Final Thoughts of the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary
A full day in the elephant jungle sanctuary is a bit on the expensive side. However, it is more than worth the money for an experience which you will truly never forget.
For us, spending a day with elephants was a once in a lifetime opportunity. There is something fundamentally poignant about the fact that the sanctuary has taken a very sorry situation such as that of elephant exploitation in Thailand, and has created something wonderful.
We left the sanctuary feeling inspired. These elephants could no longer survive in the wild after their years working in the circus or the logging industry.
The sanctuary helps to give these elephants the retirement they deserve.
