Happy Elephant Home Review Chiang Mai
Are you looking for a place in Chiang Mai to visit elephants? Maybe you are deciding which elephant sanctuary to visit.
After a lot of research before our trip to Chiang Mai, I found Happy Elephant Home, but I couldn’t tell from the reviews if it was the right place for us.
I knew we wanted an ethical sanctuary, one where you didn’t ride the elephants, but the only place anyone talked about was booked out (and had a smaller guest list due to flooding).
In the end, we decided to book Happy Elephant Home, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Thailand.
If you are wondering if Happy Elephant Home is the best place for you to visit, keep reading to find out what to expect once you arrive.
Happy Elephant Home Ticket Options
Once you decide to visit Happy Elephant Home, you need to decide which type of tickets to purchase. There are 4 options:
- half day morning visit
- half day afternoon visit
- full day visit
- 2-day visit
All of the options include hotel pick up and drop off from Chiang Mai, which is about an hour’s drive. They also include Karen clothes to change into, and information about elephants throughout your visit.
Each tour includes taking the elephants to bathe in the river and the full day tour also includes making the elephants a medicine ball and watching them take a mud bath.
The half day options vary in that the morning visit includes lunch and the afternoon visit includes dinner.
Those who opt to stay over night do the same things that are on the full day tour, but after the rest of the group goes back to their hotel, they enjoy a cooking class and a tour of a local town before staying in local accommodation.
Day two of the 2 day visit includes a private morning walk with the elephants, breakfast, lunch, and the opportunity to cut a banana tree and make enrichment for the elephants as well as a shelter.
Once you decide which option to book, you reserve your space with a deposit. The rest of the fee will be collected in cash once you arrive.
Getting to Happy Elephant Home from Chiang Mai
After being picked up at our accommodations in Chiang Mai, we drove around the area and picked up others who were joining us for the day.
We opted for the full day tour, so we were ready to be picked up by 8 am.
A 15 passenger bus picked us up and after picking up the rest of the group, there were 12 in our van for the 1 hour and 20 minute ride to Happy Elephant Home. Another 15 passenger van met us there.
The drive was bumpy, after leaving the main area of Chiang Mai.
Arriving at Happy Elephant Home
As soon as we got out of the van, there was an elephant there to greet us.
We were invited in, and the first thing you do is change into the traditional Karen clothes. There are a variety of sizes, though the pants are one size fits most, with a separate smaller size for children.
There is a group of bathrooms available to change in.
Once you have changed, there is coffee and tea available along with sticky rice in banana leaves and a bowl of fruit. There were apples and oranges on offer.
We met our guide for the day, and he started to talk to us about the elephants.
On our visit to Happy Elephant Home, there were 5 elephants living there, all of whom were rescued from the circus, from riding camps, or from other sanctuaries. All of the elephants at Happy Elephant Home are female.
Feeding the Elephants
We each received a bag with our clothes and were told to fill them with watermelon to feed the elephants.
As there are 5 elephants, we got into 5 groups, all of which rotated so that everyone was able to feed each elephant.
Some of the elephants are much quicker than others, and my kids preferred the ones who slowed down to eat.
We learned that elephants eat 200 kilograms of food each day.
Each of the 5 elephants had a staff member with her. These men are called mahouts. They live at the sanctuary and help take care of the elephants.
The Elephants at Happy Elephant Home
During our visit in late December 2024, there were 5 elephants living at Happy Elephant Home
Molo is the first elephant to ever live at Happy Elephant Home. She is about 50 years old and is the smallest elephant there. Due to being blind in one eye, she moves slowly.
Bua Bann arrived at Happy Elephant Home malnourished after being chained up during the pandemic, but she is growing now.
Mojiko is about 50 years old and has become best friends with Molo. Mojiko was previously at an elephant riding camp.
Molopo and Mo J arrived at Happy Elephant Home together and they like to stick together. They are both around 40 years old and moved to Happy Elephant Home after a flood.
There are also 3 dogs at Happy Elephant Home, Yen, Ta Dam, and Mee.
Walk to the Dirt Bath
Once the elephants had eaten all the watermelon, we took off for a walk down the hill so the elephants could take a dirt bath.
Our group stayed above and observed while the elephants climbed down into the dirt and put it on themselves.
Learning About Where the Elephants Sleep
As there are no fences at Happy Elephant Home, and the elephants would continue to eat through the night, they are kept contained in a shelter at night, near the shelter for the mahouts.
At this point of our visit, the elephants ate a lot of leaves while the guide told us more about the elephants and answered any questions we had.
We learned that there are 1,500 wild elephants in Thailand, but the ones at the sanctuaries have been rescued.
Cooking Demo and Lunch
For lunch, our guide gave us a quick cooking demonstration and taught us how to make our own bowl of noodle soup and papaya salad.
On the day we visited, there were vegetarian options only, including veggies and tofu, though the menu changes. If you are vegetarian, let them know in advance.
Fruit, including yellow watermelon and pineapple, were also available for us to enjoy.
Water is provided and you are able to purchase soda and beer.
Each guest can choose to start with soup or salad, and it is a quick line before your meal is ready.
You can choose your own toppings to add on after you cook your noodles.
We enjoyed our noodle soup first and by the time we had finished, there was no line for the papaya salad station.
You can use the mortal and pestle to grind up the ingredients, making it as spicy as you’d like.
Elephants Bathing in the River
After lunch, there is a 20 minute walk to the river where the elephants bathe.
Buckets are available for you to “wash” the elephants. You can walk into the river as well.
Cooling Off at the End of the Day
At the end of our visit to Happy Elephant Home, we had 30 minutes to swim, change our clothes, and relax before the van took us back to Chiang Mai.
I believe the amount of time given at the end of the visit varies based on how long it takes to get through the other activities during the day.
My kids chose to swim, along with the women who were staying overnight as part of the 2 day visit.
The rest of the group relaxed, some playing pool on the pool table overlooking the area.
Shop for Souvenirs
Happy Elephant Home has a small shop near the area where you eat lunch. Souvenirs are available to purchase.
They also take a photo of everyone individually with an elephant while you are feeding them at the beginning of the day. Those pictures are then put into frames made from elephant poo.
We later visited the Elephant Poo Paper Park and learned how they were made.
Family Travel Tips
Accommodations for Overnights at Happy Elephant Home
An overnight option is available, and there is a guest house near the main area of Happy Elephant Home.
After we left for the day, the people staying went to their accommodations to shower and get ready for a cooking class and a visit to the local town.
Happy Elephant Home FAQ
When doing research for an ethical elephant sanctuary, Elephant Nature Park always showed up first on the list. Due to flooding, they weren’t accepting many visitors during the time we were there, so I needed to find another option.
In the end, I think it depends on your view of ethical. We wanted a sanctuary that didn’t allow people to ride the elephants.
If you are looking for an elephant sanctuary near Chiang Mai that doesn’t allow visitors to feed the elephants or bathe them in the river, look to visit Elephant Nature Park instead.
Looking at the Responsible Travel Guide for Ethical Elephant Sanctuaries, Happy Elephant Park is not on the list for ethical elephant sanctuaries, but it is also not on the list of sanctuaries to avoid.
Shirts come in a variety of sizes, from child size to XL. If you wear an XXL or larger, you can consider bringing your own change of clothes for the day.
The traditional pants are one size fits most. We were all able to wear the same size pants, with the exception of my son who wore the child size pants.
You should wear a bathing suit under the Karen clothes and wear sneakers or sandals that can get wet.
Bring along a towel and a change of clothes. A raincoat is suggested during the rainy season, which is June, July, and August.
Also bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and insect repellent.
Happy Elephant Home Chiang Mai Wrap Up
Our visit to Happy Elephant Home was completely as adverised. I had been a little unsure after reading many reviews of different elephant sanctuaries near Chiang Mai, but in the end, we were all happy about our day spent at Happy Elephant Home.
There is a variety of activities so that we were never bored. During down time, the teenagers played pool and the adults relaxed in the shelter. My kids were the youngest on the tour at 9 and 10 years old, but they were able to partipate in all aspects of the day.
We never felt unsafe as there was a person who took care of each elephant, along with our tour guide for the day.
Lunch was delicious and suited all of us. The kids especially enjoyed being able to make their own meal exactly as they wanted it.
I forgot to count the members in our group, but I would say that the group size is about 20.
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