Elephant Village Sanctuary & Resort — Attraction in Luang Prabang

Was really wary of coming here after reading some reviews, but left feeling much better about our choice.

Booked the half day tour when we were in town, arranged pickup for the next day. Collected from hotel, and headed to the village. The roads are pretty bumpy from rain damage so be aware of that if you get car sick at all.

Arrived to tea and coffee, and information from the guide. He informed us the elephants onsite (there are 6) were previously captive elephants used for riding by the previous occupant of the sanctuary land. They no longer allow tourists to ride and have the prior harness seats on display to sit on and consider how they have previously been treated.

To their point - any naturally wild animal who was kept in captivity for some time will not adapt to life outside of that if set fully free - so they ensure the elephants have access to all the food they need to remain healthy and happy. The mahouts tend so closely to the resident elephants and their commands are mostly heeded, but when the elephants are done with what they’re doing they just leave.

We were also taken to a nearby waterfall. The boat is not covered and it was very hot on the water so a hat and covered clothing is a must ! But the waterfall was amazing.

We opted for the washing experience which is amazing to be so up close with them. When the elephants had enough they began heading up the hill, so we went back to the village. We had lunch (a few curries and rice on offer, cold drinks can be purchased).

We headed back to our hotel. There was no sign of distress, harm, chaining of any kind and the mahouts clearly love the animals and have a good...

Elephant village is one of the best activities you can do with elephants in Luang Prabang. The staff is super nice, from the office to the mahouts and of course the guides, answering tons of questions about the animals and their well being. The resort is very luxurious, if you decide to stay overnight. I got a room upgrade despite I traveled alone. As for the elephants, I felt they are treated very well. They are howdah free (no seats), only ridden by a person at once (two with the Mahout) and for short distances, not chained, well feeded and they have a hospital with a mahout vet. If you are thinking: they should be free in the jungle, not being ridden by tourists! Well, I agree, but here is the thing: these are rescued animals from the lodging industry, if they were freed they would probably die or be recaptured. With tourists support more elephants can be bought or rented (as they don't always want to sell them) and have a better life. As they don't live in the jungle, they need to be controlled to avoid damages to the neighbour fields and the mahouts make a great job doing so with only voice commands. If you still think an elephant will care about person in his back crossing the river a couple of times a day I'm sure you'll find an option to skip the riding, or maybe try Mandalao. Overall a great experience and good money investment to help these...

Nice elephant park to take some pictures and feed the elephants but with some pros and cons. Pro: they treat the elephants very well, they all are perfectly healthy and well fed. the older elephants run free and return to the forests in the afternoon. they buy elephants from the logging industry and give them a nice retirement. the caretakers use only the voice and no hooks ore other items to communicate with the elephants. they do not offer elephant riding. the place is very clean with good facilities/restaurants and a pool. they support local jobs and buy all the food from local farmers.

Cons: the focus is clearly on giving the tourist a good time and not an educational program. There are some info sheets around but that’s it. it’s not a final rescue program as they give some elephants back to the owners when they run low on money. -they don’t have any reintroduction to the wild program or breeding program to increase the wild population. they bought a calf to attract more tourists but they keep it isolated and caged in a separate paddock. This is the only violation of animal welfare that I have seen in the village. I understand that it can’t run free at the beginning, but to keep a heard animal in isolation for month to years is a violation of animal welfare.

Overall a nice zoo-like experience but no real impact on the...