Elephant friendly tourist guide

Wild elephants will spend their days roaming long distances, grazing and socialising with other elephants, not confined in small enclosures or forced to perform.

If you want to see elephants on your next holiday, keep these elephant friendly travel tips in mind:

• If a venue allows you to get close enough to ride, bath or touch an elephant, it’s because they’ve been cruelly trained.
• Baby elephants are tourist magnets, but true elephant-friendly venues shouldn’t allow breeding. You shouldn’t be seeing young elephants, except for orphanages where babies are rescued from the wild.
• Elephants should always be treated with kindness and respect, and hooks shouldn’t be used unless in a real emergency. 
• Being wild animals, captive elephants can be unpredictable and dangerous, especially if they're being crowded. Many tourists and mahouts are injured and killed each year. Even in elephant-friendly venues you’ll often see mahouts accompanying elephants at a distance, to keep everyone safe.
  
  

Finding an elephant venue that aligns with welfare best practice can be difficult, even with good intentions.

World Animal Protection’s elephant-friendly guidelines support venues to move away from direct contact and towards observation-led experiences that protect elephant autonomy and reduce the demand for captivity.

The venues below received the highest scores in our most recent assessment and are categorised according to their practices. They are either classed as following our Elephant Friendly guidelines or Elephant Friendly with the exception of offering hand feeding over a barrier.

For a comprehensive list of venues and their offerings, check out the full list in the report.

These venues have been reviewed and updated in December 2025, ensuring that all the information about their practices is up to date.

Key:

✅ Elephant Friendly guidelines*

🟡 Do offer hand-feeding over barrier

* World Animal Protections’ elephant-friendly guidelines help transition venues to incorporate best-practice animal management and avoid further increasing the captive elephant population. Such venues will allow elephants more autonomy, more opportunities to engage in natural behaviours, and will avoid direct contact with visitors. 

Cambodia

Elephant Valley Project, Cambodia ✅

Nepal

Tiger Tops Tharu lodge, Nepal ✅

Thailand

Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary, Sukothai ✅

Burm and Emily's Elephant Sanctuary, Chiang Mai ✅

ChangChill View Doi, Chiang Mai ✅

ChangChill Hillside, Chiang Mai ✅

Elephant Forest Phitsanulok, Phitsanulok ✅

Following Giants Koh Lanta, Koh Lanta✅

Following Giants Krabi, Krabi ✅

Global Vision International, Chiang Mai ✅

Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary, Chiang Mai ✅

Mahouts Elephant Foundation - LIFE Project, Chiang Mai ✅

Mahouts Elephant Foundation - Palatha Project, Umphang ✅

Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, Phuket ✅ (Venue announced phasing out hand feeding by April 2026.)

Somboon Legacy Foundation, Kanchanaburi ✅

India

Wildlife SOS - Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, India  

Laos

Laos Elephant Conservation Centre, Laos

Mandalao, Laos 🟡

Nepal

Association Moey, Nepal 🟡

Thailand

Elephant Hills, Khao Sok 🟡

Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, Chiang Rai 🟡

Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve, Phuket 🟡

Isara Elephant Foundation, Chiang Mai 

Khao Sok Elephant Sanctuary, Khao Sok 🟡

Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, Phuket

Samui Elephant Sanctuary, Koh Samui 🟡

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Phetchaburi 🟡

Does the venue allow close contact with elephants?

If an elephant venue allows you to get close enough to ride, bathe, or touch the animal, it’s because they’ve been cruelly trained. A genuine elephant sanctuary is one where you can look, not touch.

A venue may call itself a sanctuary, rescue centre or retirement home for elephants, but don’t assume this means high welfare. It is important to do your research before booking and use our guide above to avoid being misled.

Are the elephants behaving like elephants would in the wild?

If the elephants in a venue are not allowed to freely move and express natural behaviours, it’s not an elephant-friendly venue.

Elephants in the wild spend their days roaming long distances, grazing and socialising with other elephants, not confined in small enclosures for most of the day, or forced to perform.

Are there baby elephants there?

They might be cute, but if you can see or touch a baby elephant, especially without their mum, then the venue is not elephant-friendly.

Baby elephants are tourist magnets, but true elephant-friendly venues shouldn’t allow breeding. You shouldn’t be seeing young elephants, except for orphanages where babies are rescued from the wild.

Are the elephants and people safe?

Elephants should always be treated with kindness and respect.

Being wild animals, captive elephants can be unpredictable and dangerous, especially if they're being crowded. Many tourists and mahouts are injured and killed each year. Even in elephant-friendly venues, you’ll often see mahouts accompanying elephants at a distance to keep everyone safe.