Elephant riding and elephant nurseries in Kanchanaburi

Description and is it worth a visit

Kanchanaburi is one of the places in Thailand where you can ride elephants or take care of them. There are several farms here where tourists can ride elephants, naturally as passengers, and not drivers. The walk will cost from 500 baht and above, depending on the route. It can be just a short round trip, a longer route through the jungle, or a tour for a few hours through the forest and swimming with animals in the river. There are several such places in the province, and often this entertainment is included in the program of tours like "Paradise on the River Kwai" from other resorts of Thailand.

Whatever riding option you choose, all this is a tourist attraction, and no more, in which animals are simply used to earn money and for the amusement of tourists. But there are also unusual places with elephants in the province: Elephants World Kanchanaburi and Elephant Haven. These are shelters for elderly and sick animals affected by human actions, or injured in their natural habitat. Volunteers from all over the world come here to live in the camp for a while and help in caring for them. Even if you come here for one day as an excursion, you can just watch the animals or help in caring for them: cook, feed, wash them. If you are lucky and you show yourself well, you will be allowed to chat with the kids. Impressions of visiting such places will stay with you for the rest of your life, but, however, the price for visiting them is pretty high. You can visit within one day (2500 baht with delivery from hotel in Kanchanaburi), 2 days with an overnight stay will cost 4500 baht, a week of volunteering 20,000 baht.

Here are the most famous elephant camps and their position on the map:

• Elephants World Elephant Shelter Kanchanaburi (nursery on the map). Website - https://www.elephantsworld.org/
• Elephant Haven Elephant Shelter (shelter on the map).
• Chang Puak Camp (Changpruk Elephant Camp) (farm on the map).
• Taweechai Elephant Camp (farm on the map). Website - http://taweechaielephantcamp.com
• Muang Sing Elephant Village (farm on the map).
• Chang Wang Pho Elephant Camp (farm on the map).
• Mahawangchang Elephant Camp (farm on the map).