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Without more land, there can be no more elephants …

Ten years ago, when Elephant Nature Park first moved to the Mae Taeng valley the area was virtually undeveloped. From Mae Tamman onward, the road was rutted gravel two track, which made for a challenging drive in the rainy season. The thick forest on either side threatened to engulf the road, giving one the feeling that you were heading well off-the-beaten-path. The final bumpy descent passes a sacred spirit house nestled tight against the rocky mountainside (to honor the spirit of the mountain who has claimed a few lives in the past) followed by a sharp curve and then — voila — it seemed you had reached paradise!

The jungle and mountains opened up to reveal a fertile valley with a river winding, snake-like. From the road there were no signs of habitation anywhere … several extremely large boulders lay clustered and scattered about the landscape. But wait — one of the boulders was moving!  WOW … ELEPHANTS!!!

…and there was Elephant Nature Park … in the beginning.