Hugging an Elephant at Elephant Hills
The food provided is buffet style but delicious, with plenty of choice for even fussy children. The first thing that hit me on arrival at the main camp is how much like a luxury safari camp it resembled. The en suite tents are not really tents at all, but rather permanent structures that happen to have a strong tent like fabric enveloping them! The beds are very comfortable and even in the heat of summer we didn’t feel too hot as the fans were adequate.
My biggest fear before coming here were the leeches. Let me tell you, even in the rainy season we didn’t encounter one leech, mosquito or spider! I don’t know how they did it, but I could sleep easy knowing that my blood wasn’t about to be sucked out of me!
The itinerary here is packed with amazing adventures. What I didn’t realise is that the first day is the ‘elephant day’. You travel a little while to where they are and spend the day watching, feeding and washing these gorgeous creatures. The elephants are ex working elephants and under no circumstances are you allowed to ride or wash with them – both are very bad for the elephants and Elephant Hills’ ethos is about looking after these magnificent animals.
The second day is about the lakeside camp. If your children are over 7 then you can also spend the night at the lakeside camp. Alas, my daughter was a month off her 7th birthday so we had to spend two nights at the land camp. However, we still spent the day at the lakeside camp, travelling in a long boat and then canoeing till our hearts were content.
Evenings at Elephant Hills are spent chilling out and watching local children put on a beautiful dance recital. Maybe while supping a cold Chang beer!
It really is the perfect place and my children and ourselves will carry the memories of Elephant Hills with us forever. I think every Thailand itinerary should include it as it really is an experience like no other.