Elephant Village Pattaya in Thailand see demonstrations of the unique skills of the Thai elephant, and take a two-hour ride through the adjacent jungle. An elephant ride, jungle trek, and river-rafting is also available. The Elephant Village was opened in 1973 as a sanctuary for former working elephants. These elephants, through reasons of injury or ill health, can no longer be used as a part of the backbone of heavy work in the jungles of Thailand.
Also because of their diminishing habitat, it is now longer possible to return them to the wild. The Elephant Village provides then magnificent creatures with a safe haven, where they may live out their lives with dignity and freedom from fear. A visit to the Elephant Village is not only unique experience, but it is also a lifesaver because the fees paid by our visitors contribute to, the very survival of the elephants, both now and in the future.
Pattaya elephant Village is organized by Mr. Phairat Chaiyakham. Mr. Phairat knows a lot about elephants. He has been an elephant keeper for more than thirty years. He loves the giant animals and from his affection for them he has created a successful business. “I used to wonder about elephants when I was a boy,” he explains. “How do you feed them and how much food must they have every day? Now I know the answer.
It costs a lot to keep elephants – between 1,000 and 5,000 THB a day for food and medicines per each elephant.” Khun Phairat has thirty elephants and employs some one hundred staff to look after them. Every day he organizes three shows and more than 1,000 visitors crowd into the show ground to watch the 90-minute demonstration. As managing Director of Pattaya Elephant Village, Khun Phairat designed the show himself.
“It’s a typical day in the life of an elephant, starting with the Elephant bathing. If you want to see the type of show that you find in a circus, you won't find it on my premises,” he says. Some elephant shows feature games of football and other gimmicks, but Khun Phairat dispenses with that and sticks to the authentic lifestyle of the working elephant. “We run the business for our family and our elephants. We guarantee that our elephants are well treated and are not afraid of our visitors.” At the Elephant Village there is plenty of space for feeding and the natural surroundings are good for the elephants.
Combination Trekking (About three and a half hours) (NOT include Elephant Show). This activity starts with feeding the elephants then an Elephant Ride, which lasts approximately ONE HOUR (2 persons will share the basket strapped to the back of one elephant) followed by a 20 minutes accompanied jungle walk followed by a visit to the Silk House (a silk worm farm) seeing the entire life cycle of a silk worm (4 weeks) in action.
This will be followed by 20 minutes being ferried across a local lake, finishing with a return ride to the Elephant Village on ox-carts or "Thai limosine" which was a "two Ox powered" two wheel cart. This was the traditional Thai vehicle before cars and motor cycles. It takes about 20 minute ride on the cart. Upon return to the Elephant village, the visitors will then be served with a home cooked buffet lunch or dinner. This programme takes place twice daily at 10.30 hrs and 16.00 hrs. Each booking: minimum 2 persons.
One Hour Elephant Trekking : The visitors will ride on the back of an elephant through local farmland and bush for about 45-50 minutes (2 persons will share the basket strapped to the back of one elephant). After making a brief stop at the Silk House, visitors will return to the Elephant Village by Land Rover. At the village, visitors will be served with complimentary fruits in season. This service takes place four times daily with the first trek at 09.00 hrs. The other treks take place at 10.30, 12.30, 16.00 hrs. Each booking: minimum 2 persons.
Elephant Show : (14.30-16.00) Visitors will observe demonstration of the training and forestry skills of working elephants. This programme begins with a five minutes banana break to allow visitors to interact with the elephants. This will be followed by demonstrations of elephants’ bathing techniques, followed by demonstrations of training elephants for working in the timber trade, round-ups and other skilled training techniques. The show continues with a display of war elephants and finishes with visitors being able to go for a short ride on an elephant. Each booking: minimum 2 persons.
