Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Center

There are many elephant camps in Thailand, especially in the north around Chiang Mai. Many are no more than glorified circuses and petting zoos. The government sanctioned Lampang Thai Elephant Conservation Center is a refreshing exception to this trend. The center is set in the verdant jungle at Km.29-29 off of the Lampang - Chiangmai Highway, about an hours drive from central Chiang Mai. Entrance to the show is THB70 for adults and THB30 for children.

The center offers a variety of experiences, including mahout (a person who drives an elephant) training courses, from 2 days to 1 week. For these, there is accommodation at the camp. The center also offers the usual elephant show 3 times a day (10am, 11am, 1:30pm), but with a twist. Unlike many of the other shows, this one focuses on the elephants' traditional work in the logging of teak wood. Some of the things these elephants can do is absolutely amazing. Also not to be missed for first timers is an elephant ride through the jungle.

The other unique feature of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center is that there are two hospitals within the grounds. One is run by the government and associated with the center and the other is independently run by a private citizen as a charity. Any sick, injured or orphaned elephants are treated there. They even have a mobile rescue unit that will go anywhere in Thailand to rescue an elephant and bring them back to the hospital for treatment. A visit to the hospital is not for the faint of heart. Many of the animals suffer from terrible wounds inflicted by land mines along the Thai-Burmese border. Others have been given amphetamines and nearly worked to death before being released in the jungle to die.

There is also an elephant dung paper plant at the center where you can buy various elephant dung paper products and see how they turn elephant dung into usable bio-gas.

The center is highly recommended by any who visit there. It has received rave reviews on the website Trip Advisor and I have received a lot of positive feedback from people I know on both the camp and the mahout course. If you would like to experience the majestic elephants of Thailand, then this is the place to do it.