Elephant riding in Pattaya. Elephants in Pattaya. A sea of ​​unforgettable and contradictory impressions

This animal is not sacred, but iconic. The elephant was even depicted on the national flag until it was replaced by the tricolor, following the trend of the time. The list of excursions in Pattaya would not be complete without including elephant riding.

This entertainment will be interesting for both adults and children. Elephant riding is a very popular activity among tourists and the market responded very quickly with demand. Several elephant villages have already been opened in the Pattaya area, which will take you for a ride and show you a show. But don’t rush to buy a separate tour or go to see the elephants on your own; if you have already bought an excursion to the River Kwai, then elephant riding is included in almost every program.

Elephants in front of the floating market

There are definitely elephants there, but I have not yet studied this complex. This place should be planned to be visited as part of three interesting places at once - a floating market, a snake farm and the complex itself, where you can ride elephants. The terrain is within the city, the terrain is flat, the area where skiing takes place can be littered. One advantage is that it is close and you can get there on your own on a white songteow.

Elephants on Sukhkumvit 200 meters from the snake farm.

As a matter of fact, I didn’t find the name on their business card, so I can’t address you by name. Judging by the terrain, they ride in the sun, so stock up on cream and a hat. There is no elephant show. By all indications, the village is of no interest, although I could be wrong since I didn’t ride myself, and they weren’t allowed to photograph the route.

• Works: from 7:30 to 18:00
• Price: Prices for skating are indicated for one adult, for a child half the price. 400 baht 20 min. / 600 baht 30 min. / 1200 baht 1 hour.

Elephant Village Khao Chee Chan

It makes sense to visit the Khao Chi Chan elephant village as part of 3 more interesting places: the Karen people, the Wat Yan complex and the 130-meter rock carving of Buddha, because... it is located directly opposite the rock carving.

• Works: from 8:00 to 18:00
• Price: Prices for skating are indicated for one adult, for a child half the price. 400 baht 20 min./ 600 baht 30 min./ 1000 baht 1 hour.

The area is conducive to pleasant skiing - mountains around, plantations. Disadvantages include the distance from Pattaya and the lack of public transport.

Elephant in the tropical garden of Nong Nooch

In Nong Nooch Park, elephant riding is the most expensive and least interesting. Here the elephants walk on the asphalt, in the heat, the scenery around is certainly beautiful, but there is no exoticism at all, and it’s also expensive. But the elephant show can rightfully be called the most interesting in Pattaya. Find out more about how to get to Nong Nooch Park.

• Price: 400 baht for 10-15 minutes. Children have a 50% discount.

Pattaya Elephant Village

I haven’t been to this village personally, but the official website can provide enough information.

A little history of the creation of this elephant village

The Elephant Village was opened in 1973 as a refuge for former working elephants. Elephants who, due to injury or illness, could not be used for hard work in the jungle found shelter here, as well as elephants who, due to various circumstances, could not be returned to the wild.

The village provides shelter and food for the elephants exclusively at its own expense; visiting the village is not only entertainment, but also salvation, because the money earned from tourists is a contribution to the very survival of the elephants, both now and in the future.

The Elephant Village is a private company that operates on a non-profit basis and all proceeds go towards feeding, paying medical bills and generally caring for the elephants. The Elephant Village receives no government support or sponsorship from large companies or international organizations. From 1,000 to 5,000 baht per day is spent on one elephant per day. These are the costs of food, medicine and care.

Khun Phairat knows almost everything about elephants; he has been working with elephants for over thirty years and is now in his fourth generation. He loves these giant animals and has built a family business out of his affection.

In December 2002 and January 2003, for eight days, the elephant village received up to 150 scouts every day who specially came to Thailand from all over the world.

The village has 30 elephants and about 100 employees. More than 1000 visitors come from Pattaya every day.

If the description of the site is to be believed, this elephant village offers some very exciting adventures. There are several offers to choose from:

Complex offer

The package deal lasts about three and a half hours but does not include the elephant show. The adventure begins with an elephant ride that lasts about an hour. Elephant riding is standard for tourists - two people per seat.

followed by a 20 minute jungle walk followed by a visit to the Great Silk House, this will be followed by a 20 minute ride across local lakes, ending with a return ride to the elephant village by cart. Upon returning to the elephant village, visitors will then be served a home-cooked lunch or dinner. This program is held twice a day at 10.30 am to 4 pm. The price is 2000 baht per person and 1600 baht for children up to 100 cm in height. Each order: minimum 2 people.

One hour on elephants

Visitors to the Elephant Village will be able to ride on the back of an elephant through local plantations and bushland. The elephant ride lasts about 45-50 minutes. On the way there will be a short stop at the Silk House, because... I haven’t been there myself, but I suspect that they will sell products made from Thai silk there. In the village, after riding elephants, people are treated to fruits. They ride four times a day at 09.00, 10.30, 12.30, 16.00. Book in advance.

• The price is 1200 baht per person and 1000 baht for children up to 100 cm in height. Each order: minimum 2 people.

Elephant show

The elephant show takes place from 14.30-16.00 and begins with five minutes of feeding the elephants bananas. Visitors will be able to see the work of elephants in logging, playing football, bathing elephants, as well as how elephants were rounded up in the past and, of course, the participation of elephants in battles. Previously, in the Middle Ages, elephants regularly participated in the battles that took place regularly between Siam and Burma.

Pattaya Elephant Village is the most famous and popular elephant sanctuary among tourists. The elephant village, located 7 kilometers from the center of Pattaya, ranks first in terms of the number of pets and the entertainment shown here.

Title in English:
Pattaya Elephant Village

Address and coordinates:
48/120, Moo 7, Tambol Nong Prue, Pattaya City, Chonburi, 20150
12°54’46.4″N 100°56’20.8″E (12.912883, 100.939121)

Working hours:
The elephant farm is open for tourists from 08:30 to 18:00
The elephant show takes place regularly from 14:30 to 16:00.

Entry price:

The cost of the entrance ticket, which includes the show and tour of the elephant farm, is: 650 baht for adults and 500 baht for children below 100 cm.
Important: Elephant rides are paid separately (see useful information for prices).

Telephone:
+66 038-249818, +66 038-249853, +66 038-734470, +66 038-249657 (fax)
+66 091-546-4996, +66 062 987-9244, +66 098-917-4154, +66 06-1462-5916

Photo and video

How to get there on your own?

The Elephant Village is located 8 km from Beach Rd and 6.5 km from Sukhumvit Rd, so it is not possible to get here by public tuk-tuk or songthaew. If you decide not to use the services of travel agencies and want to visit this place on your own, then you have only three options:

• Own transport. It’s not difficult to get to the elephant village with a rented bike or car. Use stationary maps or a GPS navigator.
• Taxi. From Pattaya city center the cost will range from 400 to 600 baht per car, depending on your bargaining skills. As a rule, a taxi in the opposite direction will be even more expensive, so it is better to negotiate immediately with the same taxi driver with whom you came here.
• On foot. From Sukhumvit Road to the farm is 6.5 kilometers - not to say that this is an insurmountable distance. 1.5 hours at a leisurely pace and you are there; only the sweltering heat can get in the way.

Elephant village on the map

Excursions

An excursion to the elephant village will cost you 600-650 baht - this price will include a 30-minute ride around the farm on an elephant. If you want to ride longer, you will have to pay from 1000 to 1200 baht for an hour-long ride and swimming with an elephant in the lake.

Helpful information:

Story

The Elephant Village in Pattaya, opened in 1973, is the first in all of Thailand. The farm was originally created as a shelter for injured, sick and old working elephants. The Elephant Village does not receive any assistance from the Thai government and is a completely private company. All money for visiting the village goes towards food and medicine for the elephants, because from 1,000 to 5,000 baht per day is spent on the maintenance and care of one elephant.

The farm currently houses 30 elephants and 100 employees. Due to the large territory, elephants in the village live practically as in their natural habitat. Every day more than 1000 visitors come here from Pattaya and nearby provinces.

Elephant ride

There are several tour options at the farm:

Hour trekking. This hour-long tour includes an elephant ride around the farm (2 people, 45-50 minutes) and a visit to a silk factory, from where you drive to the village and are treated to free fruit and invited to a national Thai show. Cost - 1200 baht. It is held 4 times a day - at 09:00, 10:30, 12:30 and 16:00.

Combined trekking. This tour lasts 3.5 hours and includes elephant riding through the jungle (2 people, 60 minutes), a 20-minute hike, a visit to a silk factory, swimming with elephants and rafting on a lake. Returning to the village, you will be fed lunch or dinner and invited to a national Thai show. Cost - 2000 baht. It is held 2 times a day - at 10:30 and 16:00.

Pattaya Elephant Village regularly hosts a 90-minute show featuring elephants and their mahouts from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm.

It all starts with a banal feeding, but as the show progresses, the elephants show their ability to be trained professionally. Elephants play football, basketball, darts, show acrobatic tricks, lift logs and ride on cars. Little elephants draw pictures, dance and play numerous musical instruments. Well, the highlight of the program is the Thai massage performed by elephants - anyone can leave the podium and try a back and butt massage.

After the show, you can feed the elephants bananas and take a photo with them as a souvenir.

Other entertainment

The national Thai show is held in the elephant village every day - you will see a cultural show, Thai boxing and national dances.

Quad biking - 2000 baht (1 hour + fruit), 4500 baht (2 hours + lunch or dinner + national Thai show).

A walk on a cart loaded with oxen or buffaloes is included in the combined trekking.

On the farm territory there is also a silk factory and a small mini zoo, where gibbons, swans, geese, ducks, giant fish, peacocks, deer and other animals live.

Conclusion

Probably, many, having seen the prices and location of the elephant village, will say what’s the point of going here if you can ride elephants in Pattaya cheaper and closer?! I will answer, it’s definitely worth getting to this elephant farm to see how elephants live in their natural habitat and for the amazing 90-minute show that is held only here!

In the vicinity of Pattaya there is a unique place where several dozen elephants live. Animal lovers should visit there - where else can you get so close to these giants, touch them, feed them and even ride them. The farm where the elephants live is called “Elephant Village”. It is located 7 km from the center. The elephant sanctuary is home to about three dozen elephants.

The adult elephants living in the Elephant Village are enjoying a well-deserved rest. When the animals were unable to work, they came up with another activity - to entertain and give rides to tourists. The Elephant Village, founded in 1973, is self-sustaining. For the money received from the performances, the animals are fed and treated. In addition to adult elephants, there are also young elephants that arouse constant interest among the public.

Practical information

The elephant village is located in Nong Prue, near Siriporn orchid farm. Public transport from Pattaya does not go here. You can get there as part of a tourist excursion or by taxi. Ticket costs 650 baht for adults. For children whose height is less than 100 cm, the price is lower - 500 baht. The ticket price includes viewing of the elephant show. Excursions are paid separately. One hour of riding an elephant costs 1,200 baht, a three-hour combined excursion will cost 2,000 baht. For children whose height falls within the “meter” limits, the price is 1000 and 1600 baht, respectively.

The price of the one-hour program includes: elephant riding for 45 minutes. around the farm, a visit to a mini silk factory and a small snack with tea and fruit. The combined excursion includes a trek through the jungle on elephants' back, an elephant ford across a river, a ride on a buffalo cart, and lunch at a Thai restaurant.

Opening hours: opening at 8.30, closing at 18.00. The show runs from 14.30 to 16.00. The elephant village has a shop where you can buy a souvenir to remember your visit to this unusual place. Of course, all products are somehow related to elephants: figurines of these cute animals, paintings painted by elephants. Eco-friendly photo frames, notepads, and postcards are made from elephant feces.

Elephant show

Once a day, tourists are entertained with a 90-minute performance. Elephants demonstrate miracles of training - they dance, perform acrobatic tricks, play darts, twirl a hoop with their trunks, and paint pictures. The most daring spectators can experience an elephant massage: a person lies down on a mat and his back is covered with a rug. After this, at the command of the trainer, the elephant gently hits the back with its trunk and lightly presses with its paw. At the end of the performance, the elephants come out to the audience in ceremonial blankets and colorful headdresses.

Elephant rides

It’s interesting to watch elephants from the outside, but a ride on a gray giant evokes a whole flurry of emotions. How does this happen? To climb on an elephant, you must first climb onto a high platform. The elephant is brought to this elevation and the tourist sits in a chair on its back. This chair can accommodate two people. For those who are afraid of heights, this trip may seem like a real challenge: it’s very high, the elephant sways while moving, and you always feel like you’re about to fall.

Each elephant is accompanied by a mahout, who walks next to the animal, holding it by the leash, or sits in a chair with a tourist. When the elephant goes down to the river, the most interesting thing begins - he can plunge into the water and shower the passenger with a whole fountain of splashes. It is better not to wear good clothes on such a trip. It is also advisable not to take the camera - you might drop it into the river. For an additional fee, the mahouts themselves take photographs of tourists on elephants and even insert the photo into a frame made from their excrement. Before the excursion, it is customary to buy a bunch of bananas and feed the elephants along the way.

Near Pattaya you can have a great time in a unique place where elephants live. These giants treat people favorably. They allow themselves to be fed and touched. Riding these amazing animals is also practiced here. This farm is called the “Elephant Village”. The central part of the famous Thai resort is located seven kilometers away. The elephant sanctuary is home to over thirty animals.

The farm is inhabited by adult elephants, who take a well-deserved rest there. After many years of work, their main task is now to entertain and ride the guests of the village, which was founded in 1973. The main principle of its existence is self-sufficiency. Funds raised from tourists are used to feed and treat elephants. Not only adults live in this place. The village also shelters young elephants, who are very popular among the guests of the farm.

reference Information

The animals live on the territory of Nong Prue, which is located next to Siriporn, an orchid farm. The Elephant Village in Pattaya is not connected to the main part of the resort by public transport. How to get there? This can be done by taxi or with a tour group. The cost of an adult entrance ticket is 650 THB, and a child entrance ticket is 500 THB.

Elephant village on the map

In this case, the child must be less than one meter tall. Taller children are sold adult tickets. For this money, tourists can visit the village and attend a performance with local animals. An hour-long elephant ride will cost one person 1.2 thousand THB, and a three-hour combined excursion will cost 2 thousand THB. Children up to a meter tall can use these services for 1 thousand and 1.6 thousand THB.

The hour-long program includes a 45-minute elephant ride, a visit to a small silk production facility, and a refreshment of fruit and tea. The combined excursion includes a ride on an elephant, a crossing to the other side of the river, a ride on a buffalo cart, and a lunch break at a Thai restaurant.

The elephant village is open to tourists from half past nine in the morning, and it closes at six in the evening. Performances take place from half past three to four o'clock in the afternoon. In a local store you can buy souvenirs in the form of paintings of elephants or figurines of these animals. Their feces serve as raw material for the production of eco-friendly photo frames.

Shows with elephants

Every day, an hour and a half elephant show is organized for village guests, during which the animals are engaged in painting pictures, spinning a hoop on their trunk, playing darts and dancing. For the bravest tourists, elephants give massages. The village guest lies on the mat. A rug covers his back.

Then the trainer commands and the animal begins to gently hit the person’s back with its trunk, and its paw lightly presses on the mat. The show ends with a parade of elephants wearing beautiful headdresses and blankets.

Elephant rides

Watching these animals arouses genuine interest among farm guests, but it is even more exciting to go for a ride on an elephant. A high platform is used to climb onto it.

The animal is brought to her and the guest of the farm sits in a chair that is on the elephant’s back. It can accommodate two people. For tourists living with a fear of heights, such a walk is a real challenge. Firstly, they are frightened by the height itself, and secondly, the movement of the elephant is characterized by swaying from side to side, and there is a fear of falling off the animal’s back.

Each elephant moves accompanied by a mahout, who leads it by a leash or is on the back of the elephant in front of the traveler. An animal's descent to the river is an extreme adventure. In the water, the elephant creates a real fountain with its trunk, splashing the traveler with splashes.

Before such a walk, it is better to put on simpler clothes and go without a camera, as it may well end up in the river. If you pay the mahout additionally, he will take a photo of you during the trip, and then present the photo in a frame, which, as mentioned above, is made from elephant feces. Traditionally, buy bananas before starting your walk and feed your elephant along the way.

A sea of ​​unforgettable and contradictory impressions

From visiting this place, tourists are left with a sea of ​​unforgettable impressions that the Elephant Village gives them. Pattaya is a resort where this entertainment is included in the compulsory program of a stay in this beautiful corner of Thailand. Tourists treat smart and kind animals very warmly, in contrast to rude drivers.

Some travelers who have previously visited Indian Sri Lanka note that elephants there are treated humanely and respectfully. In a village near Pattaya they are beaten, forced to perform tricks and give rides to guests, even if the animal is not feeling well or in a bad mood.

The local “silk factory,” a visit to which is included in the main route, means a small house with a Thai grandmother imitating the production of this material. Although seeing how the silkworm is reborn will be interesting for many tourists.

Swimming with animals is very memorable. The elephants lightly toss their riders, spray them with jets of water and playfully move on. The children on the farm really like the little elephants.

Adult elephants eat bananas with skins, while small elephants eat them only as peeled fruits. If you approach an elephant with a banana with skin, he will be offended and move away from you. Drivers have a passion for money. In the village you have to pay for literally everything - from feeding fish and birds, to taking photographs and treating elephants with bananas.

The Elephant Village in Pattaya is a controversial place. Tourists get the greatest pleasure here from communicating with these amazing animals.

Elephant - sacred symbol of Thailand

The elephant bears her child for two long years. From birth until the age of 3-4 years, an elephant is considered a baby. Mother elephant feeds him milk. As soon as he is torn from his mother’s breast, he is raised by the mahout, on whom the elephant’s future life depends. Usually the young mahout and the baby elephant grow up together. The elephant is practically a member of the mahout's family. There is a saying that to be a mahout is to be married to an elephant, as a mahout spends only about 5 days with his family and the remaining 25-26 days with the elephant. An elephant works from 14 to 60 years of age, and only after 60 years of age does it retire. An adult elephant weighs about 4000 kg. He needs 300 kg of food every day. And the elephant sleeps only 4 hours a day, standing like a horse and snoring loudly around him. Elephants are famous for their intelligence and ingenuity, as the show at the elephant farm in Pattaya will demonstrate.

Elephant Village in Pattaya

This is a unique private reserve, built in 1973. At first, sick animals were treated here. The fame of this unusual infirmary slowly spread and many guests wanted to visit this place. This is how an amusement park was slowly formed. Thousands of tourists happily remember riding elephants in Pattaya and those moments of carefree happiness and pleasure that wise animals allow us to experience.