Chiang Mai Elephant Sanctuary and Rafting

53 Ratings

Mae Win

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Discover Chiang Mai’s Joy Elephant Sanctuary & Bamboo Rafting: Observe elephants, enjoy a waterfall, and relax on a serene bamboo raft ride.

Duration: 9 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Thung Luang - Experience our Elephant Sanctuary Observation, Waterfall & Bamboo Rafting adventure, spend a full day relishing rural Chiang Mai close to nature.
Change into traditional Karen clothing upon arrival at the sanctuary, as you soak in their fascinating culture & involvement with the elephants.
Engage in hands-on activities, preparing food…

What's Included

Free photography
Towel
Bottled water
Lunch
In-vehicle air conditioning
Elephant’s food and snack
Insurance
Tea and coffee

What's Not Included

Other personal expenses

Additional Information

Perfect for nature enthusiasts! Enjoy a tranquil day with the Joy Elephant Sanctuary & Bamboo Rafting Program: watch elephants in their natural habitat, gain exclusive insights, and relax to the sounds of the river while bamboo rafting on the serene Wang River.
Immerse yourself in our responsible tourism with Elephant Observation programs!
Interactive…

Location

Thung Luang

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(53 Ratings)

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1 star

Ronya

May 15, 2026

Such a nice day! - Really fun and nice! Our guides was so fun and cool. The food was also good. I recommend!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

King_w

Apr 19, 2026

Great experience, well organized and worth it - Everything was great from start to finish. The experience was well organized and definitely worth it. Just be aware that the order of activities may change depending on the day. You might do bamboo rafting before or after visiting the elephants, but either way it works out well. If you do rafting first, it’s actually a great flow because you cool off in the water, then visit the elephants, and still have time to relax at the waterfall. Overall, an amazing experience and highly recommended.

Review provided by Viator

Beki

Mar 20, 2026

A fantastic day spent with elephants. - We had a great day with the Joy team, we started with a bamboo raft ride which was great fun then spent time learning about and meeting, feeding and walking with the elephants. Lunch and water was provided and we then had a paddle in a waterfall before making a Thai herb inhaler. A fab day spent with a really lovely group of people.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Marian

Mar 11, 2026

JOYous experience - Beautiful experience. It was great seeing elephants do what they do with minimal human interference. Loved the no touching or bathing policy. An actual sanctuary that cares about their mission. Our guide was very knowledgeable and the whole day was well organised. We learned so much and can only hope all of the other sanctuaries will follow suit one day. Nice lunch and cool souvenir workshop. Bamboo rafting was a fun way to end the day. Highly recommend to go and see these beautiful big girls.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

171barrip

Mar 1, 2026

Great ethical fun experience! - This was a very well organized, educational, fun and ethical experience. I highly recommend!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Colin_h

Feb 21, 2026

Ethical elephants and bamboo rafting - Watching elephants walking thtough doing their own thing was a magical experience. Only direct contact was feeding them mango before they wandered off and we followed. Later, riding the bamboo raft down river and over a number off small but exciting rapids was great fun and very exhilarating.

Review provided by Viator

Nikojbo

Feb 18, 2026

Amazing day with elephants - Superb day, we feel that elephants are well treated. Very good lunch. Rafting and very pleasant manual activity. Our guide on 18/02 was great, clear and very friendly. Swimming with elephants was amazing while staying safe.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Eduardo

Feb 9, 2026

In the middle of wildlife - No doubt a great experience and opportunity to see the elephants from close. Very well treated, well cared for, the staff friendly, well organized

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Grace_p

Feb 5, 2026

Great experience - It was most amazing to be up close with the elephants in their environment and go at their pace. They took us on a walk and one of them had a mud bath right in front of us Our guide Jay for the first part was wonderful! Clear, funny and spoke English quite well and has a great personality! The trek is a bit rugged for us 50 yos so wear right shoes. We did half day and next time will do full day with elephants We had the rafting afterwards which was an adventure and quite fun but on a 5-6 piece bamboo raft so be ready for that The ride up to the mountain was curvy and survived it but was getting a bit carsick…so those who have motion sickness bring your stuff or put your patch on to avoid the nausea. It was such a beautiful experience Will do it again!

Review provided by Viator

Alaina_h

Jan 31, 2026

I had a great time on... - I had a great time on this tour. feeding the elephants, walking with the elephants and the waterfall were highlights. I wish the listing description actually listed the HIKING we did with/next to the elephants. that was not clearly listed and should have been. Luckily i was wearing good walking sandals, but others in the group were not and clearly didn't understand we'd be hiking on uneven terrain either. Our guides really needed to make sure one of them was the last person to make sure everyone got down safely. I ended up tripping and falling/scraping my knee right at the end and no one knew because i was the last one down to make it to the lunch spot.

Review provided by Viator

Check Availability

From $61

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult