EleSafari — Attraction in Rajasthan

This activity is definitely not budget friendly. 4000 rupees will get you the pick up from the city, feeding elephants, painting them (our favourite part) and walking around a sketchy not so dreamy not so natural area. Apparently you’re paying for the well being of the elephants but my friend and I were not convinced by the ethics behind it. I am not an expert in elephant eyes but we found them sad. However, we didn’t witness any act of mistreatment. One thing is sure: this place is definitely not an elephant sanctuary and fully directed towards tourists. Apparently the elephants were rescued from worst situations but still… The government is allegedly involved to make sure the animals are fine but I have no way to be sure of that. And even though they do not actively encourage ridding elephants, it is still an option they offer to accommodate the tourists who want to do it, and although we specified several times that we didn’t want to do it, they asked us multiple times, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I believe that the wellness and happiness of the elephants should come before the desires of travelers and the money it can bring.

Another aspect of our experience that we seriously did not enjoy was the tour guide we booked through elesafari. Long story short, our short was everything but professional and it felt like he didn’t even knew his own city.

Overall, we enjoyed our time with the elephants, especially the painting part, but we wouldn’t do it again and would have been fine missing it. In compensation for the really bad experience with the tour guide, elesafari said that we could come back next time, free of charge, but I have no idea when that will be... So even though we appreciate the gesture it feels irrelevant compared to the day we wasted feeling uncomfortable around our tour guide full of red flags, I wonder what was the...

EleSafari was an incredible experience and I highly recommend it - 6 stars!! The communication with Ilu via WhatsApp and email just the day before our visit was prompt, friendly, clear and very helpful. Many questions were answered from the first email and I couldn’t ask for more. My family (2 adults and 11yr old) were greeted at the main road by an EleSafari guide who lead us to the correct property. We walked into their plot which was well laid out, and immediately offered drinks and a cool place to sit and hear about the history of elephants in Jaipur and what EleSafari’s respectful philosophy of caring for the elephants. Ilu was very friendly and welcoming, answering our questions in a relaxed and knowledgeable way. Then we met the beautiful 19 year old Payal. Words can’t describe how special it was to see, talk to, touch, feed and water this incredible elephant. A truly kind and gentle giant. We fed her many bushes of sugar cane and heard her deep purring as we fed her. We got to paint her, wash her, and walk her around the area. It was so joyful, we didn’t want to leave. We arrived at noon and visited 2 hrs nearly on our own. Only at the end did another family arrive.

I highly recommend this experience and stay clear of the many other locations which seem to prey on...

It feels like a SCAM since there are no specified rate lists at the venue. There are private owners who are charging at will.

One of the guys quoted us:

• for the elephant ride- Rs. 1750 per person and half for kids (even for a four year old)
• Introduction, getting to know the animal, photos- Rs. 650 per person (half for kids)
• Feeding the elephant- Rs. 1500 per person (half for kids) (also, they would be providing the material)
• Climbing to the back via tusk of the elephant- Rs. 1750 per person (half for kids)

When we showed reluctance, the guy gave us a discounted price for 1 adult and 2 kids for just the elephant ride at Rs. 2500.

There is no doubt that elephants are costly to maintain but having no standardised rate lists and scope for bargains, definitely feels suspicious.

We had high hopes from this place but were greatly dissatisfied. Would not...