I consider my visit to this non-riding elephant sanctuary my top highlights in Luang Prabang, Laos. Read all about my experience here.

TLDR; MandaLao Experience Quick Facts

This is a long drawn-out article on my experience, and I know sometimes you just want to get to the important bits. Here you go:

• The Half-day Therapeutic Trek costs USD$100.
• It includes Luang Prabang hotel pickup in a comfortable air-conditioned van, lunch, boots and socks, snacks for elephants. Sunscreen and repellent were provided. Water is also provided.
• Wear comfortable clothes that you can get wet in. Or in our case, sweat a lot in. We were here in May, aka the hottest month of the year in Laos. I would also suggest caps or sunglasses because you’ll be walking under the sun. Your bag is with you the whole time, so carry something light and easy. You have to be mobile enough so you can play with elephants, ok?
• Don’t support elephant-riding experiences, but also don’t take places that advertise “non-riding elephants” at face value.
• https://mandalaotours.com/

MandaLao Elephant Conservation

I found Mandalao by simply googling “non-riding elephants in Luang Prabang”. MandaLao offers a few different types of tours with their elephants. Initially we wanted to get on the New Beginnings tour. This would entail a half day spent with their only baby elephant and its mother.

After giving them a quick check on TripAdvisor and satisfied that their claims appear genuine, I emailed the company. I immediately received a lengthy apologetic reply and an appended press release explaining that the baby elephant tour was not available anymore. The baby has shown signs of wanting to be apart from its mother and the matriarchal herd. The sanctuary thought it best to allow him his natural instincts and roam on his own to prepare him for his release in the wild.

I was not disappointed in the least. I’m more than certain baby elephant tours are the most popular, I was relieved that they put elephants first before tourists.

We opted for the Therapeutic Trek instead with two adult elephants. This is a half-day trek that costs USD$100. Not cheap, but extremely worth the money for the experience and the work that they do for the elephants.

The Pickup

We were picked up at around 8.30am at our hotel lobby by our guide for the day, Thong. MandaLao is located some 30 minutes from Luang Prabang. The roads to the sanctuary were bumpy at times but we were in a comfortable air-conditioned van.

Throughout the ride, Thong entertained us with informative tidbits about Mandalao and elephants. The sanctuary has only been around for two years and houses nine elephants, all rescued from logging or riding tourism camps.

Thong told us that MandaLao is the first non-riding elephant tour in Luang Prabang. When they first started, they were laughed at by locals, who saw no tourism value in a non-riding, non-performing elephant attraction.

As they saw how successful MandaLao was becoming, they began to implement “non-riding” tours as well. They began calling themselves “sanctuaries”. While the elephant experience would be non-riding, the conditions the elephants were kept in would still be the same as when they were giving rides. According to Thong, elephants require 250kg of food daily – which they receive at MandaLao. The ones at tourism camps get fed perhaps 100kg at best.

The Sanctuary

We arrived into the sanctuary and we ushered to a sheltered canopy area. The canopy overlooked a river and was surrounded by forested hills in many shades of bright green. The view was incredibly refreshing.

Upon seating, we were immediately offered welcome drinks and handed over to Prasop. He is an an elephant expert from Thailand, who’s here at the organisation to help revive the elephant numbers in Laotian forests. Laos used to be known as the Land of a Million Elephants. Years in wars, logging, deforestation have led the country to have some 300 elephants left in the wild. That is sad.

Prasop explained to us in much detail and passion about elephants and the conservation efforts of this sanctuary. The ultimate goal of this place is to be able to rehabilitate and reintroduce as many elephants back into the wild. Such as Baby Kit, the little elephant we would otherwise be on a tour with.

At MandaLao, the elephants have 20 hectares of forest space to roam at and be themselves.

Getting Suited Up

Once we’re done with the introductions, we were handed back to our guides to get fitted with waterproof boots and socks provided by the sanctuary. Sunscreen and insect repellent were also provided. Should the weather turn awry, the sanctuary provides raincoats as well. Everyone gets water – in a reusable bottle, hooray.

We were a group of seven people. Five of us were on the half-day trek, and two were on the full day trek. The treks only allow a maximum of eight participants.

To the Elephants

Once we’re ready, we were led to a narrow wooden sampan boat which got us to the other side of the river. From up the canopy, it was hard to see how strong the currents on the river really was.

As we drew closer to opposite side of the river, I looked up and saw two elephants peering serenely down at us. I chuckled and pointed them out excitedly to my friend.

Upon docking, we clambered out of our boats and made a short climb up towards the elephants.

Large baskets filled with bunches of bananas were brought out. Our guides demonstrated how to feed elephants proper. The mahouts then called over the elephants who were peering down at us earlier. They ambled over, one slightly charging forward first to the feeding pen. In the same beat, I stepped forward as well, all too eager to feed her my blackened, ripe bananas.

Meeting Mae Tou & Boua Ngen

She was Mae Tou. Accompanying her was Boua Ngen, her younger sister. Mae Tou and Boua Ngen were our two new friends for the trek. The elder Mae Tou is, uh, 40-something and Boua Ngen is… 30-something. They were both domesticated in a logging camp. I think. I know, I wish I paid closer attention to their back stories.

But listen, I paid lots of attention to the beautiful elephants that they are NOW. Mae Tou is bigger and her face was elegant and long. She was also the grumpier diva of the two that day. While younger, the smaller Boua Ngen sported more wrinkles on her face. She was in a more amiable mood that day and quickly won me over. She was incredibly sweet and more willing to accept love from us than Mae Tou.

I paid more attention to the grumpy Mae Tou though, thinking she just needed a little more coaxing and love with my bananas. I managed to give her some trunk hugs, pats and kisses but she just had about enough of my bananas. And clinginess. Mae Tou pedaled backwards, went up to a nearby tree and rested her forehead there. And stayed still that way. For a good whole five minutes. Leaning against a skinny tree. I couldn’t stop giggling at this scene. I’ve never felt more inspired to do some forehead resting on random surfaces too.

We continued feeding the two elephants until they didn’t want our bananas anymore.

Then Boua Ngen farted.

LOL.

That was the sign I suppose, because we began our trek then.

The Therapeutic Trek

We walked ahead, and the elephants and their mahouts followed behind. Boua Ngen walked ahead of her sister the whole time.

True to the trek description, our slow walk with the elephants was incredibly relaxing. We were hanging out with the elephants, and they were just doing their thing. Foraging for food, scratching their everywhere on an unfortunate tree, and throwing some dirt on their backs. This was especially fun. They do that to alleviate some of the scorching heat of the day.

Oh yeah, it was sublimely hot and you will most definitely break a sweat. Dress comfortably, leave your big bags at home, and a hat is always a good idea. Elephants have the same body temperature as us, so I don’t think this was a favourite weather for our ladies. Maybe that’s why Mae Tou was grumpy.

We followed a trail but the elephants were allowed to go off-course. We stopped often to simply observe the elephants. The elephants were never rushed, and were gently guided by voice commands by their mahouts.

I walked alongside sweet Boua Ngen, occasionally chatting with her (which really consisted of creepy, cooing noises) while stroking her spiky-haired trunk. As I looked into Boua Ngen’s tangerine brown eyes, I wondered how a creature so majestic and gentle can be so… belittled. I want to protect you forever.

Between the seven of us, there was no fighting for attention and opportunities with the elephants. There was ample opportunity to take lots of photos of and with the elephants.

The Hardest Goodbye

About an hour and a half of leisurely walking later, it was time for the half-day trekkers to say goodbye to the elephants.

🙁

I wanted to give Mae Tou a little goodbye hug, but she turned away from me again. It’s ok, I still love you boo.

I turned to Boua Ngen and gave her trunk a hug. She obliged, and when I gave a gentle squeeze, I wished her all the health and happiness in the world. She instantly leaned her head further towards me while flapping her ears. You think I’m overthinking, but elephants are sensitive creatures that can sense empathy and ~good vibes~. So when you’re sincerely giving love, they can feel it. You can imagine how unworldly beautiful an experience with elephants can get.

Needless to say, it was tough saying goodbye. As our group of five turned to leave, the elephants started after us. I swear we almost cried and did that slow-mo movie thing where we ran into each other’s arms, er, trunks. Just me? Ok.

The mahouts gave a quick command, and the elephants turned to follow the other couple who continued the trek on the full day tour. I felt like I should have opted for the full-day session too.

Organically-grown Lunch

We headed back towards the welcome centre by the sampan boat as well. Our lunch was at a canopied restaurant, also overlooking the river and green scenery.

For lunch we sat at a communal table with the group and dishes of homemade-style food were brought out. There were dishes of stir-fried vegetables, vegetable soup, sweet and sour chicken and deep fried vegetables. They grow their own organic vegetables and can easily change the menu to follow dietary requirements.

There’s a boutique here as well, where you can buy Mandalao-themed souvenirs such as t-shirts, hoodies, elephant poop paper, caps, to support the cause further. They accept both cash and credit card, but I suggest bringing along extra cash if you do intend to make purchases. I wanted to get a t-shirt at USD$18, but didn’t have enough cash, and unfortunately their credit card machine didn’t work on the day.

My Final Thoughts 

If I’ve not iterated it enough, I really enjoyed my experience with the elephants at MandaLao. There was never a dull moment on this tour. The elephants were sweet, gentle, adorable and sometimes amusing beings.

There’s effort to do actual good here at MandaLao. This is one of the more expensive activities in Luang Prabang but once you see the vast lush space the elephants have and the amount of food they provide for each elephants… I somehow feel the amount is nothing.

Should I end up in Luang Prabang again, I would gladly do this all over again. I miss Mae Tou and Boua Ngen already.

Why is elephant riding unethical?

While I was researching Kuang Si waterfall tours in Luang Prabang, I noticed a lot of the tours included “elephant sanctuary” in their itinerary. When I read on more about it, I realised a lot of them are elephant-riding experiences. The fact that they use “sanctuary” terrifies me. Elephant-riding is an extremely unethical tourism practice.

My point with this: don’t take “non-elephant riding camps” at face value. There’s more to ethics than simply being non-riding experiences.

To be honest, I never realised it was unethical until just a few years back. Heck, as a kid, I remember riding elephants at the Singapore Zoo, a supposedly world-class educational animal sanctuary.

Elephants need to be tamed and trained to allow humans to ride on top of them. This entails a horrifying process of separating baby elephants from their moms, starved and sleep-deprived till they become submissive to humans. They are also prodded with sharp hook-like sticks. If you think their thick skin barely feels the pokes, you’re grossly misinformed – elephants get itchy from even the bite of a tiny mosquito.

Furthermore, despite its size, elephants are not built to carry that much weight on their spines. Hours upon hours of heavy mounts and even heavier humans damages their spine. Some are not able to reproduce ever.

TLDR; you hurt elephants by riding them.

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