Elephant Jungle Sanctuary: Are you in for the best spa experience of your lifetime? But instead of a luxurious resort, you’re frolicking in the mud with elephants.
Visiting the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary (EJS) in Pattaya, Thailand, was an unforgettable experience our family will cherish forever. Nestled in the lush landscapes of Chon Buri, Thailand, the sanctuary offers a unique opportunity to interact with these gentle giants in a respectful and ethical manner.
From feeding the elephants to learning about innovative conservation efforts, our day was filled with joy, learning, and unforgettable memories.
Before the activity started, the guide thoroughly briefed us on the elephant’s welfare, behavior, and essential safety protocols.
Feeding the Elephants
Our first amazing encounter after the briefing was with elephants at feeding time. We were amazed by the sheer size of these gentle giants as we hand-fed them fresh bananas and pineapples.
Getting so close allowed us to marvel at their skill in grasping the treats with their agile trunks. It was fascinating to watch them deftly strip and discard the pineapple leaves before savoring the fruit with their mouths.
The guides instructed us on proper hand hygiene and positioning to ensure both our safety and the elephants’ comfort during these intimate interactions.
Elephant Vitamin & Dung Paper Making
Visitors can lend a hand prepping the elephants’ nutritious meals by chopping fresh fruits and veggies like bananas, pumpkins, and tamarinds. After mixing in rice, minerals, and supplements, you get to personally feed these colossal veggie-lovers.
One unique activity is crafting paper from the elephants’ dung. After drying and soaking the dung into a pulp, you’ll spread it onto screens to sun-dry into sheets. Decorating this eco-friendly paper with seeds, flowers, or stamps creates memorable souvenirs. Best of all, this clever recycling reduces waste at the sanctuary.
Mud Spa Experience
The mud spa is definitely the messiest and most memorable experience at the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.
After meeting the gentle giants, you’ll head to the muddy pit with them. They will happily splash and roll around, and you’ll get to join them. Scoop up gobs of the thick, gooey mud and slather it all over the elephants’ rough hides. They will love the mud massage.
With all the splashing of mud and water, you’ll end up covered in mud too. Other tourists may also join in the fun of splashing water with you. After lots of laughter and mud-slinging fun, you’ll head to the shower area to enjoy a nice bath
Tips in Going to the EJS
- Get ready early as they come to pick you up ahead of schedule
- When feeding the elephant, stay in front and feed one banana or pineapple at a time.
- Bring a camera, umbrella or a hat, sunscreen, a bathing suit, a towel and a change of clothes.
Supporting efforts for elephants’ survival
We left the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary not only with a deeper appreciation for these magnificent animals but also with a renewed commitment to supporting efforts that ensure their survival and well-being.
You can visit Elephant Jungle Sanctuary at two different times during the day. The morning visit takes place from 6:30 am to 11:30 am and the afternoon visit takes place from 12:30 to 17:30 pm.
The package includes one traditional Thai buffet meal, pick up and drop off to your accommodation in Pattaya, drinking water, coffee and food for feeding the elephants.
What an amazing experience this must have been! I would love to feed elephants, that would be unforgettable for sure…
this sounds like an amazing experience indeed.. i am sure we will love it too.. i have gone to an elephant sanctuary in india and there we did feed these gentle giants ..
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I so enjoy reading about your adventures and this one is no exception! Elephants are such glorious creatures – this must have been an experience of a lifetime.
yes. one of the most unforgettable experiences. Elephants are big and I thought they are dangerous to see at a close distance. But, they are gentle.
Pattaya sounds like a gorgeous place to visit! And the mud spa experience looks absolutely phenomenal!
This looks absolutely amazing! The elephants are so cool. It sounds like it was a great time.
This looks like such an amazing time, what a unique experience up close with the Elephants. This would be awesome to get to do!
I would love to visit that sanctuary. Being able to see the elephants up close in a place that I knew wasn’t exploiting them would be amazing.
I am glad you do. Yes, the sanctuary is a haven for the elephants. The tour is like an educational trip, you learn about the elephant – their behavior, diet etc. And the most thrilling of all is you get to bath the elephant with mud. . . a very unforgettable experience.
That is the coolest thing ever! I’d go for the elephants and stay for the spa. LOL
Nnniiicccceeeee…but wait a minute, I thought elly’s didn’t like cameras? Now that you say it, I will take the next chance to photograph them….
What an experience to take on at least once in a lifetime! I can’t wait to experience this.
What a beautiful experience to have. I would really love to see elephants someday.
I have never been up close to an elephant. I should visit this sanctuary and feed them!