Review: Green Elephant Sanctuary in Phuket
It’s six o’clock on a Sunday morning. We are in a shuttle on the bumpy roads of Phuket to spend a few hours with one of the most fascinating creatures in our world. We are on our way to visit the elephants at the Green Elephant Sanctuary.
Many elephants are currently living in Thailand under poor conditions. As you know, Thailand is one of the most popular countries in the world among tourists, and elephants play a huge part in their culture. Unfortunately, they are also commonly used and abused as a way of making money through tourism.
By choosing ethical elephant experiences and learning about the Thai elephants, you will be contributing to a brighter future for elephant tourism in Thailand.
What is Green Elephant Sanctuary?
This Elephant Sanctuary is located in the lush jungles of central Phuket. They focus on creating an ethical elephant experience for tourists, without elephant riding and chains.
The elephants at the sanctuary spend most of their time wandering around freely in the surrounding rainforests. The personnel keep trackers on the elephants to be aware of their whereabouts, but elephants are otherwise free-roaming. One of the main reasons to why the elephants actually come back to the sanctuary on a daily basis is food. The elephants have a great sense of keeping track of time and know when it is time to eat and return to their stables for bedtime.
The Mahout
Domesticated elephants have a Mahout, which is their main caretaker. The elephants are commonly bought from elephant owners along with their Mahouts (usually hired by the elephant owner). Mahouts at the sanctuary are living in small cottages on the premises with their families. They are dedicating their lives towards caring for their elephant. Keep in mind that an Asian elephant usually lives for around 50 years, so it is quite the commitment.
For the safety of everyone, this is where the elephants are sleeping during the night. 
Baby elephant is going for a bath
The elephants at the sanctuary
The sanctuary is created in accordance with European Animal Protection laws and owned by a Swiss family who have been fascinated by elephants for years. They used to dream about protecting and contributing towards improving their living conditions. Now, that is exactly what they are doing in the lush rainforests of the central Phuket.
Usually, the elephants at the sanctuary are from elephant riding facilities and have been in captivity for most of their life. You may initially question why these elephants are not released into the wild. It would, however be challenging for a domestic elephant to learn how to live and survive in the wild after years of captivity. Instead, they get to live in a sanctuary, stretching over an area of 40 000 square meters, where they can heal from their previous traumas and be treated well.
The sanctuary also runs the Vision Green Elephant Clinic, a veterinary clinic offering elephant health care at a minimum cost. This is especially important in Thailand since elephants are expensive animals to care for. Being a Mahout is also not very profitable which makes cheap veterinary services essential to maintain the health of the elephants.
Green Elephant Sanctuary also works hard to create public awareness to help improve care and wellbeing of the animals.
Domestication of Thai elephants
Thai Elephants have been domesticated in large numbers for over 4 000 years. Usually, they are taken care of by Mahouts. The bond between Mahout and elephant is complex. It is based on trust, feeding, and in unfortunate cases punishing the elephant into desired behaviour.
It happens that elephant owners cut corners and employ young boys to ”train” them into taking care of elephant. The boys are trained over the course of a few days and the elephants are used for tourism. It serves as an easy way to make money. It does, however also destroy any chance of the Mahout and elephant to establish a mutually respectful relationship.
The Mahouts employed by most sanctuaries around Thailand have generally been working with their elephants for years. They know how to care for and control them in an ethical, positive way. This is a necessary requirement in order to be able to control the animal without punishing it or causing pain.
One of the baby elephants at the sanctuary 
Such a wild but cute baby
How do elephant sanctuaries in Thailand operate?
To me, it is important to choose and support an elephant experience created with the well being of elephants in mind. This should be a priority for you too. Although Green Elephant Sanctuary portrays itself as an ethical elephant experience, it is important to know that no animal tourism is flawless.
Showering off the mud 
Mama and baby elephant
In a perfect world, tourists would not visit elephants for entertainment. It can cause stress for elephants, and posing for photos with tourists is probably not how they wish to spend their time. However, the costs of taking care of elephants is around 70 000 USD annually. If the elephant gets sick, it will cost even more. Therefore, the income generated by tourists is necessary for the sanctuaries to be able to operate.
The sanctuaries usually buy the previously mistreated elephants and their Mahouts from elephant owners for around 30 000-60 000 USD. For the elephants, participating in the tours of the sanctuary is probably far better than any riding or other form of exploitation they’ve previously endured. The Elephant sanctuaries offer tours with the well-being of the elephants in mind rather than the amusement for tourists.
What to consider when choosing your elephant experience in Phuket
When comparing the elephant tour options around Phuket, I learned that Green Elephant Sanctuary offers one of the most ethical elephant experiences in the area. When planning your visit to Thailand (or any area if you intend to take part in an animal experience), I suggest that you do your research, and consider how the experience feels for everyone partaking in it, including the animals. Elephants are unable to speak for and defend themselves against unethical behaviour or exploitation by humans. Do your part in providing a better future for them.
The Tour program at the elephant sanctuary
I have shared the Green Elephant Sanctuary tour program below. The tour is available in the morning and afternoon. Each tour is around four hours in total and includes the following key elements:
- Feeding the elephants
- Information about the vision of the park and the past of the elephant
- Mud Spa Pool
- Wash the Elephant in the Fresh Water Pool
- Elephant shower
- Thai Buffet
Once you arrive, the staff will welcome and direct you towards an outside dining area with bamboo tables. There will be a bit of waiting time, but thankfully, there is free, fast wi-fi and refreshments available. First, the staff will go over the program, some ground rules and basic information.
After the introduction, it is time to feed the elephants, which is your first chance to have a one-on-one encounter with the elephants. The animals gather in an oval next to their respective Mahouts, ready for you to feed and hang out with them. There are only female elephants there, as the male elephants have more of a temperament. The Mahouts and staff members are happy to help out with any photos that you want taken.
The mud spa pool and showering with the elephants
After learning about the history of the Thai Elephant, and the vision of the sanctuary, you will have the opportunity to join the elephants for a mud bath. This is definitely not the tidiest experience. You are literally bathing in the muddy water right next to elephants (who also like to use the water as a toilet). It is, however a once in a lifetime experience, and you will get to have a great shower afterwards. The staff members are also doing their best to clean up after any ”accidents”. The elephants can get a little bit excited and on the wild side as well when coming into the bath, so don’t go too close to them when they’re having fun together.
After the mud bath, you continue into a huge shower with the elephants. You get to clean them, and give them more food. This is also really fun as long as you don’t mind getting wet.
Once finished, you can take a regular shower without elephants in one of the private shower facilities available on-site. The showers and bathrooms are all very clean and modern, especially for being in the rainforests of Thailand. Afterwards, you will be treated to a Thai buffet.
The staff makes the lunch buffet on-site, it mainly consists of variations of chicken, noodles, veggies and rice. It isn’t too remarkable but definitely filling after an adventurous morning. Once finished, you will take the shuttle back to your hotel. If you want, you can read even more about the tour here.
Practical tips for the elephant tour
- Come in your swimwear, and clothes that you aren’t afraid to ruin as well as a fresh change of clothes for after the tour. You will have a muddy experience. Also, don’t forget to bring shoes that are easy to clean, such as flip-flops or other water-friendly shoes. Don’t worry about elephants stepping on your toes. If they do, your toes are screwed regardless of what shoe you’re wearing.
- Bring sunscreen and sunglasses, you will be directly underneath the warm sun for hours. Sunglasses will also prevent any mud or water from splashing into your eyes.
- Bring mosquito repellent. I never saw or noticed any mosquitos, but they commonly live in these muddy areas near the rainforests, and the sanctuary recommends you to apply repellent before visiting. Keep in mind that dengue fever is a common disease in Thailand and don’t be lazy about this. Dengue fever is usually transmitted from a certain type of mosquitos that is commonly active during daytime.
- Be careful with your cellphone or any camera equipment, and be aware that you will have to leave it unmonitored if you want to shower or bathe in the mud spa with the elephants.
Final thoughts
If you have done your research about elephant experiences in Phuket, you will know that people have given Green Elephant Sanctuary extremely favorable ratings and reviews on TripAdvisor. I usually take the reviews with a grain of salt, and set my expectations low. Below, I’ll share my thoughts about the experience, and my main reason as to why I actually consider this as one of my best experiences in Thailand.
What kind of tourist experience does Green Elephant Sanctuary offer?
If you’ve visited Thailand, you know that the people in the tourism industry are divided in two categories. The people in the first category solely wants to make money. This usually applies to taxi and tuk tuk drivers, as well as some tour operators if you’re unlucky.
Then there is the second category, which is the people that make you feel like home, and who go out of their way to help you and provide great service. They make you fall in love with the country and have a great experience. These are the people that will make you want to return to Thailand. Usually, these people are the staff at hotels and restaurants that you’re visiting, as well as some tour operators if you’re lucky.
Fortunately, the people, and our experience at Green Elephant Sanctuary falls into the second category. We had a beautiful, down to earth experience, without pressure to tip, buy useless and overpriced souvenirs, or add ons that you would need for the tour. In other words, the experience was far less commercial than many other tours we did in Thailand, and it was the least commercial one we did in Phuket. The concept is simple with one clear focus in mind – the well-being of the elephants.
Capturing your elephant experience
Something I really appreciated, was that they had a photographer who took photos during the tour and uploaded them to a Dropbox, which was available through the Green Elephant Sanctuary Facebook Page. This service was for free, and there was no limit of how many photos they would take. You were more than welcome to take your own photos as well.
Considering all the water, mud and the fact that it’s easier to enjoy the experience when you’re not taking photos (especially if you want pictures of your whole group), I really enjoyed this service. Two days prior to this experience, I was on a tour of James Bond Island where they had someone film and take photos of the entire tour, only to sell it as a surprisingly expensive DVD (hello 2002) at the end the day.
Free up the rest of the day
Spending half a day at an elephant sanctuary is probably the among the most fun and interesting things you can do if you love animals. It is, however also a quite tiring adventure. I advise you to not make any big plans before or after this excursion. It will take up most of your day and energy, even if it is a half-day event. Instead, I would suggest that you pick the morning tour and keep the afternoon open for some well-deserved pool time and reflection of your fascinating elephant encounters.
What are your favorite animal encounters around the world? Let me know in the comments!
