MANDALAO

absolutely great! Great guide who gives very valuable information in very good English. Very impressive facility, with super friendly staff. Can highly recommend this excursion.

Que lugar magnifico. Passamos uma tarde deslumbrante com nosso guia Kim que nos explicou tudo sobre a história dos elefantes e como o mandalao tem como princípio fundamental a felicidade e protecao dos animais, retirando eles do trabalho forçado e os tornando o mais livres que podem. Não promovem andar no elefante, nem banho, nem truques como deve ser feito. Se você está em busca de um verdadeiro Santuário de proteção aos elefantes, não precisa mais procurar.

Experiencia inolvidable con los elefantes desde un turismo sostenible. Lo principal es el bienestar del elefante de ahí los grupos reducidos. Hicimos el tour de medio día y paseamos con ellos. La introducción es excesiva ya que tienes que escuchar a un señor hablando 1 hora con un muñequito de elefante ( un poco ridículo, ya que no disponía de soporte audiovisual ni subtítulos para los que no tenemos buen dominio del inglés ). La comida es justita. Los guías son excelentes . Gracias por este tipos de tours y cuidar de los elefantes y no convertirlos en un circo turístico.

Experiencia increíble y única !!

Hicimos el tour de una mañana y ha sido genial, claramente se ve el cuidado que tienen con los elefantes. Un sitio donde se percibe respeto a los animales. De todos los que vimos era muy importante para nosotras que no te hicieran subir ni les obligaran a hacer cosas a los elegantes. Aquí dan su paseo diario con ellos y nos puedes ver en su verdadero entorno. Fue un momento de conexión super enriquecedor.

Puntos negativos: la introducción es muy pesada, una hora sentados y hablando y no me parecía información muy interesante. La comida era un poco justa para lo que es la experiencia.

Really great experience. I was a little bummed at first to only be able to do the afternoon feeding and 1km hike. I love hiking and the longer morning jaunt sounded more my style, but I really wanted to see elephants! The afternoon Communicating with Elephants session was awesome for a few reasons. There were only 3 of us total, so it felt more personal and we were able to ask a lot of questions with our guide Yang.

We got to talk to an elephant trainer for a good while, learning about their current studies of elephant diet and their ambitious plans for releasing elephants back into a nearby preserve. Then we made nutrient rich treats for the elephants (banana, rice, salt, tamarind, and a probiotic).

You take a brief boat ride across the Nam Khan which is fun and provides nice views. Feeding the two elephants was good fun and they seemed to enjoy it as well (based on body language we learned at another sanctuary).

After eating, the elephants went down to the river to spray themselves with water and one even covered itself in fresh mud. You're not allowed to get close or "help" them bathe, which is a good thing. This was really fun to watch and they just let the elephants do their thang until they're ready to move on.

The last part involved walking through the jungle and following the elephants as they scavenged. They love fresh bamboo shoots in particular, and finding a good tree to rub up against. This part was cool because it felt the most free form. I also appreciate the shorter walk through the jungle versus the morning tour, because there are quite a few mosquitos and not much of a breeze in the trees! I can imagine getting bitten more on the longer morning hike that is twice as long.

Each elephant has a mahout, who stays close by but does not use a stick or even verbalize commands most of the time. The only time I heard them tut commands frequently was right before we parted ways with the elephants, to take a photo. I'm not sure what they were saying but it seemed like maybe a command to stay in place. The elephants still played with each other while we quickly did this.

I will definitely come back when I visit in the future.