Elephants in northern Thailand, and the move from riding to watching

The elephant runs deep in Thai history and identity. War elephants carried kings into battle, white elephants were symbols of royal power, and the elephant appeared on the flag of the old kingdom of Siam. For centuries, domesticated Asian elephants were also working animals, above all in the teak forests of the north. They dragged logs to the rivers through terrain no machine could reach, each guided by a mahout who often spent his whole life with one animal.

From the forest to the tourist trade

That way of life came to a sudden end. In 1989, after deadly floods and landslides were blamed on deforestation, Thailand banned commercial logging in its natural forests. Thousands of working elephants and their mahouts were left without a livelihood. Some were taken into cities, where elephants could be seen walking the streets of Bangkok begging for food at night. Many more went into tourism: trekking camps where visitors rode on wooden seats on the elephants' backs, shows where they painted pictures, played football or performed tricks.

For a long time, an elephant ride was part of almost every trip to northern Thailand. But concern grew about how elephants were trained and kept. Captive elephants have traditionally been broken in when young through harsh methods intended to crush their will. Many were kept chained for long periods, worked long hours and carried heavy loads on spines poorly suited to it. Animal welfare organisations campaigned against riding and performances, and many travel companies stopped selling them.

The Asian elephant is a different animal from its larger African cousin: smaller, with smaller ears and a more rounded back, and only some males carry tusks. It is listed as endangered, and wild populations across Asia have fallen sharply as forests have been cleared for farming and settlement. In Thailand, captive elephants now greatly outnumber those living in the wild. That leaves a difficult question about what kind of life the captive animals, many of them born in captivity and unable to survive alone in the forest, should lead. It is the question the sanctuaries set out to answer.

The sanctuaries

In response, a growing number of places in Thailand present themselves as sanctuaries, where elephants rescued from logging, trekking or street begging are allowed to live in something closer to natural conditions. The best known is the Elephant Nature Park, in a valley north of Chiang Mai. It was founded in the 1990s by Sangduen Chailert, known as Lek, a Thai conservationist who campaigned against the mistreatment of captive elephants long before it was a fashionable cause. There, elephants roam in family groups across open land and along a river. Visitors are not allowed to ride them, and they spend their time watching the animals feed, bathe and socialise, and learning about their history.

Not every place that calls itself a sanctuary lives up to the name. A good rule of thumb is that genuine ones do not offer riding, performances or tricks, keep contact between visitors and elephants limited, and are open about where their elephants came from. Watching from a distance may be less of a thrill than a ride. It is far better for the elephant, and it shows you more of how elephants actually behave.

Thailand also has wild elephants, in national parks such as Khao Yai and Kui Buri, though their numbers are much reduced and seeing them is never guaranteed.

The tours that visit

Explore Worldwide's Best of Northern Thailand, nine nights, includes a visit to the Elephant Nature Park. Its other places include Chiang Mai, the old capitals of Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, Uthai Thani, Kanchanaburi and the Erawan waterfall, and Bangkok.

Explore Worldwide's Upgraded Discover Northern Thailand, eleven nights, also includes the Elephant Nature Park. Its places add the temple of Doi Suthep above Chiang Mai, the hill village of Maekampong, Lampang, Sukhothai, Uthai Thani, Ayutthaya, and Kanchanaburi with the River Kwai.

The change from riding to watching is one of the clearest examples of how tourism can change for the better when travellers start to ask questions. An afternoon spent watching an elephant family wallow in a river makes a memory that needs no ride to improve it.