About Us

“Elephant conservation is of the utmost importance to us, and the elephants’ welfare is our main goal.”

How We Began

To start with, it’s probably best to tell you a little about us and how we started the Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve.

We were founded by a cooperative of passionate experts who have worked in the elephant welfare field for many years — in fact, we have many decades of collective experience when we add it all together.

We felt that there was a need for an elephant sanctuary in Phuket that does as many things right as possible; helping elephants, educating people, and being kind to the environment.

We knew that there was an appetite from locals and tourists alike to visit truly ethical elephant sanctuaries, so we were confident that our dream would be successful.

Filled with enthusiasm, we worked hard to design and build the sanctuary; the only problem was that we finished building at the end of 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic effectively stalled the tourism industry in Thailand.

It’s been a difficult two years, but we’re extremely pleased to have made it through the other side — partly due to our hard work and partly due to the kind generosity of people around the world who supported to help feed and look after our elephants.

Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve

So, what makes us more ethical than some of the other sanctuaries?

First and foremost, our elephants always come first here. We started our sanctuary to save and protect as many elephants as possible. All money raised from our visitor programs is used directly to support our entire sanctuary.

This includes providing elephant food, expert veterinarian care, providing livelihoods for local mahouts and staff, and we are always looking to expand our sanctuary, obtain more land, and rescue more elephants.

We are located on 30 rai of lush jungle near the famous beaches on the west coast of Phuket, Thailand. We offer an educational, sustainable and ethical approach at our elephant reserve, providing a safe home to overworked and tired elephants rescued from the Thailand tourist industry.

As a pioneer in ethical tourism, we have welcomed our elephants into our natural jungle environment to live a protected and peaceful life.

All our elephants have come from elephant riding parks, circus shows, the logging industry, street begging, or other tourist attractions where they have been exploited and neglected.

Elephant welfare is our top priority and as such we follow strict guidelines of nutrition, husbandry and vet care, guided by international standards. Elephant interaction is kept to a minimum with a short feeding on our tours.

By providing conservation through tourism, we provide captive Thai elephants with a better home, away from the abuse and cruelty suffered in many of the popular elephant tourism attractions.

A Natural Environment & Sustainable Living

We strive to build a natural environment with no single-use plastic and a high emphasis on sustainable living, reducing waste, and looking after our planet and animals in the best way possible.

To us, elephant conservation and environmental conservation come hand in hand. They are both parts of the same effort as elephants can’t thrive if humans destroy their habitats and the environment as a whole.

This is why we weave environmental conservation into everything we do. While this results in dozens of environmentally friendly policies and behaviors, perhaps the most interesting is our Elephant Dung Recycling Centre.

Come and Visit Us!

At the Phuket Elephant Nature Reserve, we invite visitors to come and learn about our beautiful gentle giants and observe them in our stunning nature reserve.

We guarantee a visit that will leave you educated and inspired with a huge sense of appreciation and gratitude for the elephants, one of the most intelligent, graceful, and largest land animals on earth.

Join us today and experience what many say is “an experience of a lifetime that they will never forget!”

See you soon!

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