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All 269 Chiang Mai Attractions »

Magical Elephant Training

147/1 Rachadamnoen Rd, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
66-89-6355206
Ranked #17 of 69 tours in Chiang Mai
5.0 of 5 stars 160 Reviews
Type: Tours
Owner description: Exclusive to T.I.C travel is the Magical Elephant Training Camp. You will take care of your elephant for a full day, learning about the behavior,...... more » Owner description: Exclusive to T.I.C travel is the Magical Elephant Training Camp. You will take care of your elephant for a full day, learning about the behavior, lifestyle and personality of elephants from our English speaking tourguide. You will learn how to control, bath and play with your elephant as though you were a mahout, whilst riding bareback through the hills and jungle for the whole day. Duration - 8 hours. « less
Useful Information: Activities for older children
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160 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
RfsowV
Melbourne, Australia
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews
1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 7, 2012 NEW

Up front I'll say that I'm not so naïve not to realise that this sort of activity carries a certain level of exploitation to it. In researching these activities, I came to the conclusion that this type of tourist activity channels money into a level of conservation for these animals, who otherwise would be engaged in far less natural activities.... More

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Courtney_P331
Brisbane, Australia
1 review
1 helpful vote
5 of 5 stars Reviewed January 19, 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Before going to Thailand we were extremely cautious to research anything we did involving animals. After reading reviews on Trip advisor we booked our Trainer for a Day tour with Baan Chang Elephant Park. I am so glad we did, the whole day was incredible and it was definitely the highlight of our trip to Thailand and something that we... More

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sonyay2k
Arizona
Reviewer
3 reviews
2 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed December 3, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

BAAN CHANG ELEPHANT WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. If you have a love of animals at all I highly encourage you not to give your money to these people. Upon arrival all the elephants are chained up with one foot of room surrounded by there own elephant dung while they beg you for bananas and sugar cane. When they are finally... More

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ZipZipTraveler
Budapest, Hungary
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews
3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed November 4, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

We learned so much on this trip as we got to feed the elephants, bathe them learn how to command them, and ride them. The head guide told us so much--ex how the elephants choose their mahout, and not vice versa--and different reasons why the elephants are received by the camp. You are completely hands on, it is not a... More

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garret_sanchez
chicago
Reviewer
4 reviews
40 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed October 6, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

Thanks to the owner, guides and workers at Baan Chang for the best day I had in Chiang Mai. They strike a balance between maintaining a sensitive ethical approach and entertaining tourists. If you are looking for elephants performing circus acts look elsewhere. However if you are after getting glimpse into elephant behavior and conservation while getting up close and... More

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JYChen
Taipei, Taiwan
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed July 28, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

When in Chiang Mai, we were nearly scammed into going with another camp that promised a lower rate, but I'm so glad we stuck with Baan Chang! They have all these great reveiws for a reason! It was a definitely an experience like I've never had. The guides are friendly and knowledgable, the elephants are clearly well-fed, and the ride... More

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JESElten
Elten
Reviewer
3 reviews
4 helpful votes
1 of 5 stars Reviewed July 18, 2011
3
people found this review helpful

I was here with my family and kids on the 7. of June 2011 For the first time in 6 years an accident happened. When we were making a tour threw the woods one elephant started running and all the other ones folowed! Everybody fell or jumped off the elephant and needed to go to the hospital. I had broken... More

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like2bike1
Fort Collins, Colorado
Senior Contributor
33 reviews
15 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed June 30, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

This is definitely worth doing. It was especially nice to have one person per elephant, we felt like we got to have a lot of time with the animals. They do appear to genuinely care about the well being of the animals and treat them with respect given the realities of what they are doing. Lunch was awesome, the facilities... More

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mikenrach
manchester
2 reviews
3 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed June 5, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

Me and my partner visited this elephant camp over others as it did not exploit the elephants by making them do tricks and this was half the price of other camps that are also against exploitation such as patara. The day included feeding the elephants, learning abit about them, riding them (bareback which is kinder to the elephant) and bathing... More

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maddys_mum
Gosford, Australia
Reviewer
5 reviews
14 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed June 2, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

My husband and I visited Bann Chang in May and would easily rate as the best day of our entire trip. On a previous trip we had done the usual ride on the seat strapped to an elephant but this far surpasses that. We got the opportunity to spend an entire day with these incredible creatures, feeding them, riding bareback... More

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