Phuket Kathu Elephant Sanctuary — Attraction in Kathu

I give this place only two stars because I don’t like how the elephants looked , meaning they looked tired and over worked. My wife and I did not want to ride the animals we just wanted to feed them. When we got there one staff came to us asking if we wanted to ride we said no we only wanted to feed and pet if that’s okay, see looked surprised like no one ever said that. Anyway we paid for 2 bags of bananas and was shown a small pen with a baby and a medium sized elephant. At first we were like ok great but when we got there we saw that these animals were kept in chains all day and they could only move about 2 feet and I’m being generous here with the measurements. Anyway we hurried up and fed then a the 2 animals and we told our driver that we wanted to leave he said that he know of another place but we said that okay we wanted to go...

DO NOT GO HERE! We did not ride elephants. This was part of our city tour and it messed up our mood. The elephants are mistreated, they have wounds on their ankles from the chains they’re in, the baby elephant is kept in a pen all day where you’re charged 100 TBH for a small bag of bananas to feed it. The riders kick the elephants behind the ears to make them “go” and use a pick axe to hold the elephants still while tourists hop on and off and the poles have barbed wires that prevents the elephants from moving side to side. If the elephants “misbehave” then they get an axe to the head. It was horrible to witness. Boycott this place! Go to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary instead, they treat their elephants way better and with respect...

It is not a zoo, it's a Sanctuary where saved elephants thrive and well cared for. We visited different branch couple of years ago, and this one is very much similar. You get transfer from the hotel, some education about elephants' health and their habits. The place offers lunch and entertainment in the form of cooking class. But the main treasure is the experience you get with elephants - feeding, bathing and walking. There is a number of programs you could chose from - starting from couple of hours and to a whole day experience, and all money you pay go to the needs of elephants. The staff is lovely, friendly and would answer any of the questions you may have about elephants. Absolute must to visit if you...