Nestled just outside Kanchanaburi, ElephantsWorld is a sanctuary dedicated to rescuing elephants from all over Thailand. Dr. Samart and his wife Khun Fon, a veterinarian from the region, founded our sanctuary in 2008. Their goal was to provide a safe haven for old, abused, and disabled elephants.
Each elephant at ElephantsWorld has a unique story. Many come from challenging backgrounds like the logging industry or trekking camps. Some even endured a life begging on the streets. Sadly, these experiences harmed their health and happiness. Therefore, Dr. Samart and Khun Fon created ElephantsWorld to give these magnificent creatures a peaceful life and the care they deserve.
90/9 Moo 4, Baan Nong Hoi,
Amphoe Mueang, Tambon Wang Dong,
Kanchanaburi 71190, Thailand
EXCELLENT Based on 2195 reviews Kate B2025-08-30Verified Not To Be Missed! Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to interact with the largest mammals on Earth. This wonderful place is a perfect sanctuary for elephants who have been retired and rescued from various forms of troubled lives. The keepers are kind and knowledgeable and fun- and we are so grateful to our B&B hostess (Jims Guesthouse) for suggesting this day outing just 45 minutes from Kanchanaburi. The elephants spend all their time eating so it was easy and fun to feed them watermelons, sugar cane stalks (which we helped to cut) and for the elderly, sticky rice balls very similar to risotto which we also helped to make. We stayed all day and participated in their afternoon wash-down in the river. We even got big kisses on cheeks and necks from their trunks. A magical day we will never forget. Don’t miss this one!!!!! Pyrlik M2025-08-17Verified Show for tourists, no animal welfare I would like to share my disappointment at my visit to this elephant camp. My expectations were to learn more about the life, behavior and protection of elephants. Unfortunately, I found that the focus was almost exclusively on tourist demonstrations and photo productions.The elephants had to complete a taut, constantly repeating program. They were given precise instructions on where to stand, when to lie down and when to splash the visitors with water. This seemed less like an insight into the natural behavior of these animals, but strongly reminiscent of circus performances. The movements and “gaits” also seemed to be specifically designed for the production of photographic motifs, rather than showing the animals in their dignity and naturalness.It was also very regrettable that little information was provided about the animals themselves, their needs, lifestyle or protective measures. For many guests – myself included – it would have been much more valuable to have knowledge of the elephants, rather than just doing a tourist show. None of this has anything to do with animal welfare. Do you want me to make the writing even sharper and more emotional, or rather neutral and diplomatic, Janna Lopez2025-07-17Verified Best experience in the world. My dream was to meet these elephants up close. When we arrived at the site there were 2 adult elephants at the entrance and they came to greet alone. Spending the day with them included looking for their food, while explaining about their diet. Give him his food, know about them, each had a caretaker who took care of each of them interaction with visitors. We went to a place where we prepared a special meal for the elegant elder who no longer had teeth, then we went to the mud bath and then bathed in the river with them, it was fun, we felt very safe, elephants are big babies. It was an activity I would repeat. Klinsten L2025-07-17Verified Difficult I find this a difficult one... in that I think they're well cared for and have a better life than before... but still, the washing and scrubbing every day seems to me some of the good too much... kind of nice that you could feed them... catered meal and pickup is included Eve2025-07-15Verified Amazing!! This was so cool! I really enjoyed everything here. Washing and feeding the elephants was really great! This is really a place I recommend you to do! Definitely come down! This is really worth it! This place takes into account the safety of the elephants. The elephants are cowed and doing nothing wrong. This place cannot survive without tourists. A super place! Berre2025-07-14Verified super elephant 🐘 Just a perfect day trip, really. 2500 baht per person. I think the elephants are well cared for and taken care of here. Elizabeth H2025-05-16Verified A Great Day Out An amazing experience. The staff were very helpful and obliging. However I am sceptical about some of the activities. Of course the elephants will come for food - but there was no overseeing how much each elephant ate. I’m also not sure that people covering elephants in mud is ethical - if they want a mud bath then surely they’ll choose to have one not be led to the mud pool for tourists’ benefit.Also cleaning in the river - some elephants clearly didn’t want to be scrubbed by people but were persuaded to join us. I would have preferred to go on a treck with a herd or bathed those elephants who chose to get in the water.A great day out but I can’t help feeling it’s not as ethical as I would have liked. Seaside7749052025-04-18Verified Brilliant and worthwhile experience We thought this was great, we did the full day and it was well worth it. The staff were great and very helpful, the Elephants were treated respectfully and gently, the staff clearly enjoy working with animals.Despite explaining very well that the Elephants here are generally older rescued from lives of work such as logging etc and some wouldn't have survived without the sanctuary there was still someone asking stupid questions, isn't there always. We were told wild Elephants live nearby and neighbouring farms do experience damage sometimes. If a sanctuary Elephant gets out the Sanctuary have to pay for any damage caused. Why ask if wild Elephants can cause damage why can't sanctuary ones I think that's pretty obvious imo.This place is well run, well managed and worth the money. The food was good and the experiences all well presented. A big thank you to the staff for giving us this great opportunity and amazing photos. rich812025-04-12Verified As good as it gets. So I’m always sceptical of these ‘tourist traps’ However this was one of the best experiences we’ve had as a family. I won’t run through all the activities as the program is well listed on here and their own website. What I will say is we researched where to see elephants in Thailand. I refused to go anywhere where the animals were restricted, some even chained up and drugged. Trust me check out some of the so called safari parks near Bangkok. This place was far from that. The animals were free to roam between activities. Let’s live in the real world. The animals obviously know a bunch of tourists means food. They ‘run’ to be fed of their own free will. We even picked up bags of bananas on route to make friends instantly. All the staff were friendly and very accommodating. One Mahout even went above and beyond to allow my daughter to get in the river with her favourite elephant named Cherry. No hard sell once you’re there. Mahouts (Guides) happy to take pictures using our phone. Drinks/souvenirs sensibly priced. You can argue the moral high ground regarding these places, but in my view this is as good as it gets. The animals are well cared for and don’t wish to leave although they easily could. Pascal27Eure2025-02-26Verified All right. I totally disagree with those who say that animal welfare is not respected. First of all, I did not see any ill-treatment of these animals (on the contrary) or any trace of ill-treatment. They are domesticated elephants and not wild. I don't think it would be torture to make them swim and water the few tourists present, especially when you know the pleasure that an elephant has to go for a dip... The urban sensitivities of eco-friendly bobos should be reasoned with the realities of animal life. Our cows or horses in France are often treated worse than these elephants there ... we still have to get out of his city.I enjoyed cooking the rations of the 83 years old grd mother elephant who has no tooth and who without the help of her cornac or tourists passing by, would have died of non-feeding. I had fun cutting sugar canes (real candy for elephants) to feed some young elephants ... anyway, I spent a great day in this center.