Chiang Mai -Karen Tribe Native Elephant (office) — Local services in Chiang Mai Province

Magical memories! Booking this experience with Karen Tribe Native Elephants was a joy from start to finish! Booking was simple- initial inquiry through their website and communicating with Sun over WhatsApp. We were picked up by Garoon on the morning of the excursion, took some dramamine (just in case) and enjoyed the beautifully scenic drive to their village!

As soon as we arrived we were greeted by the sight of their harmonious herd enjoying their breakfast. We were encouraged to go and greet each elephant one by one. I was a little nervous with my two young boys and their interactions with the elephants, but I soon found that there was no need to worry. They truly are gentle giants. They took bananas from my boys so gingerly! We were assigned Chomphou and her baby Nui who was an adorably big toddler. But even banana loving, mischievous Nui was calm and at ease with my boys. Together we continued to help feed them, cut grasses for them, dust off their bodies and cool them off with a hose. Lunch was a beautiful spread of fruits, rice, noodles, and special Thai sweets. We were even treated to some delicious village grown coffee. Then we helped to prepare their daily vitamins by grinding rice and mashing it with other nutritious fruits and vegetables.

After lunch we went on an adventurous ride in the back of a pick-up truck to meet the herd in the jungle for their daily exercise. We were showed 4 different methods of how to safely get up on the elephant for a ride. Then those who wanted to ride their elephant could ride them down to the river for their baths, or just walk down beside them. Initially I thought my husband would need to ride with one of our boys, but our elephant trainer said that our two small boys could ride on Chomphou, the mama elephant together without an adult. That was truly a test of faith, but after a few minutes, my heart rate went back to normal and I knew that they were safe in Mama Chomphou’s care. We walked all the way down to the mountain to the river as Chomphou carried our boys with such gentleness. Once at the river we got to work scrubbing Mom and baby with their naturally made soap, rinsing and playing. My boys truly loved this part.

Finally, we said goodbye to our new friends, dressed out of our wet clothes and journeyed back home with incredible memories of our experience. Truly, do no hesitate to book this. Sun and his group do a wonderful job of lovingly taking care of their herd and strengthening their tribe by supporting their young people in getting a good education. We learned so much about elephant care, the Karen tribe and Thailand. Thank you for a once in a...

This absolutely lived up to all the hype. My wife and I chose Karen Tribe for our Thailand Elephant sanctuary experience while on our honeymoon in Chiang Mai. There are obviously an overwhelming number of options to choose from for this experience.

After receiving a couple different recommendations from friends that had done these previously, we chose Karen Tribe after a co-worker who visited Karen Tribe in 2018 told me it was a "life changing experience" for him and his now wife. He said he honestly would rank it a top 3 life experience. After a recommendation like that, I had no choice but to go with Karen Tribe.

And man, it did not disappoint! Everything from initial communication, to hotel transportation, to of course the actual experience was fantastic. The experience brought my wife to tears multiple times. These animals are just so majestic and kind and this experience allows you to truly care for them in an intimate setting. Our group was supposed to be 8 people (the max Karen tribe is willing to do for one day because they are caring for the elephants) but 4 of the people canceled, so we ended up as 4 people total (two couples) and we both happened to be staying at the same hotel (convenient). Because of this, we each got our own elephant. I was lucky enough to get Champu and her 1 year old daughter, Nuey! We got to spend the entire day hanging out intimately with these two beautiful creatures. Bathing them, feeding them, etc.

What we loved most of all was how ethical the experience was. As you begin your search for this, I'm sure you'll read all of the stuff about how terrible these elephant sanctuaries can be for the elephants, which obviously is a deterrent from wanting to participate in that practice. You can rest in peace. All of the other reviews cover this too, but I'll touch on it briefly here. Karen Tribe has been caring for these elephants for generations. They are an integral part of their way of life, and they do not view them as profit generator. They are hyper conscious of their health at all times and how many humans they are subjected to interaction with. All this will be covered in detail once you arrive, and I can confirm first hand it is genuine. One thing that might throw you off, is they do allow/encourage a brief elephant ride as part of the experience. They explain how done ethically this is not harmful at all to the animals, but it is also optional if you truly wish not to participate.

I cannot recommend this experience enough. You will not regret it and you will feel great that you got the opportunity to support such...

Our party of four came to KTNE based on a recommendation; KTNE does not advertise in Chiang Mai and gets all of their customers from word-of-mouth or the internet. This highlights some of the strengths of their experience: limited to small groups (