chloedickensonLast Updated on 17th March 2024
This post on the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary Chiang Mai contains affiliate links.
It goes without saying that one of the most popular tourist activities in Thailand is to visit an elephant sanctuary.
However, one of the biggest issues and controversies with elephant sanctuaries is the question of just how ethical they really are.
Some claim to be 100% “ethical”, yet still allow you to ride on elephants, whereas some will be claim to be completely transparent about what they do with the animals, and yet you can still be dubious of just how well the animals are treated and looked after.
After undertaking hours (literally hours) of research into the best and most ethical elephant sanctuaries in the country, we discovered the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary in Chiang Mai.
I’ll be perfectly honest here; I still think they could be doing better, but from our personal on-hand experience, I’m happy overall with the work they do at the sanctuary and I’d be happy to recommend it to you guys.
If you’re still a little unsure of which elephant sanctuaries in Chiang Mai are actually the best, take a look at my guide to the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary below; hopefully it’ll help to sway your decision!
As I said above, I don’t think you’re ever going to find a truly 100% ethical animal sanctuary as the logic of allowing tourists near wild animals in any sense will always have its flaws.
At the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary, however, I think they’ve accomplished pretty much as good as it gets in terms of allowing you to interact with the elephants, without putting them under any stress or causing them any harm.
While I would wholeheartedly recommend the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, I still think it’s important to carry out your own research and make your own decision too, so I’ve included a few more elephant sanctuary recommendations below.
Full Day Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary Tour
This particular elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai offers various different tours and day trips, depending on what you’re looking for.
We did the Full Day Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary tour which cost 2000 baht each (£49.34). It’s obviously very expensive but once we’d been to the sanctuary, we both agreed that it was worth the money and we were happy to see exactly (for the most part) where the money goes.
The tour starts between 8am and 8:30am when you’ll be picked up from your hotel/hostel in Chiang Mai, until around 3pm when you’ll begin the drive back to the city.
Tour Includes
- Small group tour of the elephant sanctuary
- Lunch and fresh fruit
- Bottled drinking water
- Snacks
- Round-trip transfers to and from your hotel in an A/C minivan
- English speaking expert tour guide/photographer
- Free access to the photos via Facebook
What to bring with you
- Comfortable clothing (t-shirt and shorts, ideally)
- Swimming suit that you don’t mind getting muddy
- Towel
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Camera/phone/GoPro
- Hiking boots or trainers (I’d recommend boots as it can get very muddy and wet)
- Flip flops
- Change of clothes (just in case)
You can also embark on the half day morning tour, half day afternoon tour or the full day bamboo rafting and visit to the elephant sanctuary.
What you need to know
Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary prides itself on being ethical, on treating the elephants correctly and most importantly; absolutely NO riding the elephants.
When I was younger, I always thought that it looked amazing to ride on an elephant; it looked so magical and majestic.
Yet, as soon as I was old enough to understand the devastating repercussions of riding these magnificent beasts, I couldn’t quite believe that people still chose to ride them.
At the sanctuary in Chiang Mai, there are six elephants that all have their own mahout (elephant trainer/keeper) to look after them.
As part of our day trip to Blue Daily, we got to interact, play with and bathe with just three of the elephants and it was undoubtedly one of the most surreal and incredible days we’ve had since travelling.
Below, I’ve included a detailed run through of our entire day at the sanctuary so you know what to expect, should you choose to visit while in Chiang Mai.
What you can expect
The full day tour picks you up from your hotel/hostel between 8am and 8:30am and then takes you on the one and a half hour drive to the Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary, southwest of Chiang Mai.
Our tour guide/photographer for the day was called Nat and his English speaking skills were impeccable. On our way to the sanctuary, we also picked up another couple who would be joining us for the day.
This was the first thing that impressed me about Blue Daily Elephant Care; the fact that the tour group was so small. As there were only four of us (plus Nat, the tour guide), it meant that we could really get up close and personal with the elephants. I thought that there would be at least a dozen people all crowded around the elephants all day long, so I was honestly so surprised and grateful that it was just the four of us.
About half way through the journey to the sanctuary, we stopped off at a gas station for a toilet break. When we got back in the minivan (a mega plush air-conditioned minivan, I might add), Nat provided us with a tub of sweet potato fritters and fried bananas. This was such a lovely touch and so unexpected as we had no idea!
Once we arrived at the sanctuary, we were given traditional Karen Hill Tribe clothing so that we looked the part of an elephant keeper.
Nat then briefed us on what we could expect from the day and told us more about the elephants and their backgrounds.
We were then provided with a tray of elephant food; a mixture of dry rice, cooked rice and bananas. Nat then showed us how to mix it and mash it using a giant bamboo stick.
It was quite a lot of hard work to ensure that it was mixed and mashed properly but we had a lot of fun!
We then rolled the mixture into little balls that we put out to dry in the sun, which we would then come back to later in the day to feed the elephants with.
Next up, it was time to meet the elephants properly!
From left to right we have Namsom who is 16, Kalasue who is 20, and the “little” baby Pamu who’s just 7 years old.
Namsom is the “big daddy” of the trio and he weighs an impressive 5 tonnes and eats 500kg a day and drinks 100-200 litres of water! These facts absolutely blew me away and even though they look huge in these pictures, it’s really nothing compared to how vast they are in real life!
We spent a good while feeding them bananas and bamboo shoots – if you check out my Chiang Mai Instagram Stories highlights, you can see some live action videos of us feeding them!
Feeding the elephants was the strangest sensation and you have to shout “bon! bon!” in order for them to lift their trunks into the air so you can slide the food into their mouths. Their trunks have over 40,000 muscles and they’re unbelievably heavy, their tongues are also the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life!
After properly scrubbing our hands (and using anti-bac of course – hygiene first!), we wandered back to the little wooden shelter place at the entrance to the sanctuary where we were treated to a delicious lunch spread.
We clarified with Nat the night before our tour that Matt was allergic to nuts and he assured us that none of the food contained peanuts which made us very happy as it’s something we’ve struggled quite a lot with in Southeast Asia over the last 6+ months.
The lunch was a hearty selection of fried chicken pieces, massaman curry (minus the nuts), stir fry vegetables, rice and plenty of fruit.
To say that there were only four of us eating, we were presented with an awful lot of food but we managed to give a good go at tackling most of it!
After lunch, we accompanied the elephants and their mahouts on a jungle walk for around 45-minutes up a hill and back down again to the nearby river.
I was a little apprehensive about this part as I thought it would be basically ‘making’ the elephants go on a hike and constantly having to push them forwards.
However, it was quite the opposite; we actually had to wait for the elephants and they went at their own leisurely pace through the forest while we followed.
They also stopped whenever they pleased and would basically attack trees and pull them up from their roots in order to eat branches as we walked!
I was so pleased that the elephants were essentially in charge of the whole hike and there was no pressure from the mahouts whatsoever.
After around 45-minutes or so of trekking, we made it down to the river area where the elephants were more than keen to jump straight into the water to cool down!
We were also invited into the water so we all quickly got changed into our swimming gear and surreptitiously made our way into the freezing cold water.
And I mean freezing cold; it was so chilly that it literally took my breath away!
The mahouts then gave us a bowl and a scrubbing brush and we were given the opportunity to give the elephants a bath. The elephants almost completely submerged themselves in the water which meant that their giant legs were flailing around under the surface of the water and I did get kicked quite a few times!
I was also incredibly unlucky to have an elephant poo in the water right in front of me, causing it to splash all over my face! It’s safe to say that I was more than ready to get out of the water at that point!
It’s also worth noting that the river water is remarkably dirty and very smelly (largely thanks to the elephants crapping all over!), so just be wary of getting pretty grubby if you do decide to bathe with the gentle giants.
We spent a good half an hour at the water and then it was time to head back to the sanctuary, again, with the elephants in charge of the walk.
I was also utterly blown away with how good their balance is and how they can navigate even the steepest slopes and trickiest stretches of land without any issues at all.
They are also so incredibly light on their feet and despite weighing 5 tonnes, they’re practically silent when they walk!
Once we’d arrived back at the sanctuary, we fed the elephants the balls of food that we’d made earlier and then it was time to hug them and say goodbye.
Yet another thing that thoroughly impressed me at Blue Daily Elephant Care was that the elephants are free to come and go as they please.
If they know they’re about to be fed and given lots of attention, they’ll happily wander up to the ‘feeding area’, but if not, they’re free to roam around the giant land as they wish.
This is a really great thing about this particular sanctuary in Chiang Mai as it doesn’t feel like the elephants are being forced in front of visitors just for entertainment; they do it on their own accord when they see fit.
Once we’d said goodbye to the mighty beasts, we got changed in the changing room area and then headed to the wooden shelter area where we were greeted with a giant plate of fries to share before we headed home.
On the journey back, I pretty much slept the entire way home as I was so exhausted from the day’s antics but also on an absolute high after spending time with some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet.
I’m honestly blown away by the work they do at Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary and while nowhere (in my opinion) will ever be 100% completely ethical, I still think this sanctuary in Chiang Mai is one of the very best and I’d highly recommend it!
Related posts:
- The Ultimate 1 Month Backpacking Thailand Itinerary & Guide
- Phuket Island Hopping Day Trip To Phi Phi Islands
- Phuket Day Tour Itinerary – Big Buddha, Wat Chalong, Old Town & More
- Three Days in Bangkok – What To Do, See & Eat
Pin for later – Blue Daily Elephant Care
What are your thoughts on elephant sanctuaries? Do you think they’re as ethical as they appear to be? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @imjustagirl_16.
*Prices in this post are accurate as of the currency exchange rate in February 2020.
Wow what an incredible experience! I went to an elephant sanctuary in India and it was amazing, I’d love to visit the Blue Daily Sanctuary xo