Thai Elephant Home – Bareback Elephant Riding and Bathing

Overview

Experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with elephants with our half-day or full-day Bareback Elephant Riding & Bathing Tour in Chiang Mai. Learn how to give riding commands from professional mahouts (elephant trainers) before taking a bareback ride on your very own elephant through the jungle. Afterwards, spend time bathing and brushing these gentle giants at a local river. Half-day tours are offered both in the morning and afternoons. Full day tours have the added bonus of lunch in the jungle and taking a mud bath with the elephants!

If you are interested in the full day tour. Price: 4,900baht/ Adult

• 7:30 AM to 8 AM : Meet in your hotel lobby
• 9:00 AM : Arrive at the elephant camp
• 9:15 AM : Change into your mahout uniform and visit Ganesha, the Elephant Buddha
• 9:30 AM : Learn how to give elephant commands and to properly ride an elephant
• 10:00 AM : Go bareback riding through the forest
• 11:00 AM : Enjoy a healthy Thai lunch
• 12:00 PM : Play in a natural black mud spa with the elephants
• 1:00 PM : Bathe and brush your elephant in the nearby river
• 2:00 PM : Return to the camp with the elephants
• 2:30 PM : Shower and enjoy a fresh fruit snack
• Optional : Thai herbal hand and foot spa
• 3:00 PM : Learn more about what you can do to help with our Reforestation Project.
• 3:15 PM : Depart from the Thai Elephant Home
• 4:30 PM : Return to your accommodation

If you are interested in the half-day morning tour. Price: 2,500baht/Adult.

• 7 AM: Meet in your hotel lobby

If you are interested in the half-day afternoon tour. Price: 2,500baht/Adult.

• 1 PM to 1:30 PM: Meet in your hotel lobby

(Morning / Afternoon)

• 8:00 AM / 3:00 PM : Arrive at the elephant camp
• 8:15 AM / 3:15 PM : Change into your mahout uniform, feed elephants their favorite treats, and learn commands and proper riding techniques
• 8:30 AM / 3:30 PM : Go bareback elephant riding through the fields to a local river
• 9:00 AM / 4:00 PM : Bathe and brush your elephant in the river
• 10:00 AM / 5:00 PM : Return to the camp with the elephants
• 10:30 AM / 5:30 PM : Relax, clean up, and have a snack of fresh tropical fruit
• 10:45 AM / 5:45 PM : Say goodbye to the elephants and leave from the elephant camp
• 12:00 PM / 7:00 PM : Return to your accommodation

Please Note: You will be allowed to spend as much time at each activity depending on the traffic and weather. Therefore, the times of the activities in the above schedule may vary.

About the Chiang Mai Elephant Riding Bareback & Bathing Tour

After picking you up from your hotel, we will make a quick stop at a local store to get snacks for you and the elephants. Once you’ve arrived at the elephant camp, change into your mahout (elephant trainer) uniform and begin your training for the day.

The activities will begin with a short lesson about Asian elephants and you will be taught how to speak commands and properly ride an elephant. Next, win Thailand’s gentle giants over by giving them a few of their favorite snacks before taking a scenic bareback ride through the mountainside jungles.

If you are on the full day tour, you can look forward to enjoying lunch and an elephant mud spa after your bareback elephant ride. Both the full day and half-day tours will then continue by going down to a local river with the elephants. Here in the cool, refreshing water you can bathe and brush your gentle giant before riding her back to camp.

What's Included

• A free pick-up and drop-off service is included within 3 kilometers of the city center
• If you’re out of town, contact us to arrange a meeting point
• Transportation via minibus with air conditioning and a driver
• English-speaking mahout (elephant trainer)
• Mahout uniform and elephant food
• Fresh fruit snack and drinking water; Thai lunch (full day tour only)
• Travel accident insurance

What To Bring

• Comfortable shoes or sandals
• Long, loose fitting pants to ride an elephant
• Change of clothing in case you get wet
• Hat and sunglasses
• Sunscreen and insect repellant
• Camera (Optional)

Special Note

Riding an elephant has been known to cause skin allergies or mild skin sensitivities to some visitor’s legs. If you have sensitive skin, we recommend taking extra precaution by wearing leggings or yoga-style stretch pants under your clothing for protection.

Additionally, during Chiang Mai’s rainy season (May to September), the weather can be unpredictable. Sudden heavy rains can cause the local river to flood and therefore become dangerous to cross. If this happens, the elephant mud spa area (applicable to the full-day tour only) may become inaccessible to visitors. However, this will have no other effect on the remaining program. Visitors can still look forward to enjoying one-on-one time with their elephants and bathing them in a smaller river. We apologize in advance and hope for your understanding in this matter as we cannot control the weather.

Children Price

• Children 6 years of age and under is 500 Baht per person (share elephant).
• Children 7-12 years of age pay 50% of adult price (share elephant).
• All children riding alone pay full price.

Additional Informations

• If you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, please inform your tour guide. We can serve vegetarian food upon request.
• This is a small group tour, approximately 11 persons.
• Tour operated by our Tour Operator Partner.