Elephants & Mahouts Experience, Mae Sot

Venture into the hills and forests of Mae Sot, near the Thailand-Myanmar border, to stay with a rural Karen Hilltribe community and observe elephants living in their natural habitat.

The experience is facilitated by The Mahouts Elephant Foundation, an organisation dedicated to conserving and protecting both elephants in Thailand and the local communities that coexist with them. Tourist visits contribute to the foundation’s growth and ability to continue their work and research. They also provide an incredible opportunity for guests to walk with free elephants and be immersed in traditional life in a rural Karen village.

Guests are welcomed to the community to experience their unique culture and get involved with local traditional crafts like weaving and basket-making. After getting acquainted with the village, join one of the resident Mahouts and set off into the 90 square km of protected, untouched forest in which the elephants live. Your Mahout will help you track and observe the adopted elephants, offering the truly unique experience of seeing elephants as they should be - roaming, feeding, and socialising in the wild.

The experience is as much about the local community as it is about the elephants they look after, and visitors will also spend time in the village, getting to know the residents and experiencing life in the mountains.

This really is the best way to see elephants in Thailand, and the conservation work done by Mahouts Elephant Foundation is helping secure the future of these majestic creatures and change and improve the current practices of elephant tourism.