A visitor’s guide to ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand

If you are a tourist, a trip to Thailand is incomplete without seeing the country’s extraordinary elephants. These majestic animals have been an integral part of Thailand’s culture and history, used for a variety of purposes such as for transportation, war, logging (in the timber industry), and now tourism. Currently, there are around 3,500 – 4,000 captive elephants in Thailand. Wild elephant numbers range from 3,000 – 3,700, with declining population numbers every year.