Description
Elephant Conservation Center Exploration
Immerse yourself actively in the Asian elephant habitat in this 3 days incredible experience
Main info
private truck
Elephant conservation
Lao food
Cultural experience
Wildlife
Relax
Highlights
By joining our Exploration programme you will fully experience the peaceful and beautiful world of the Asian elephant.
In this three days on the banks of Nam Tien lake, you will have the opportunity to see more conservation activities. Our team of experts will give you a hands-on demonstration of their work in the hospital.
You will also get involved with the socialisation process of our elephants through the enrichment activity. Something that you can’t experience anywhere else.
Enjoy a relaxing stay in the Nam Tien protected area and learn everything about Asia’s most iconic creature! The team of the Elephant Conservation Center has been working for elephants under human care since 2001. Now, we are managing 34 elephants and 6000 hectares of tropical forest.
What Will You Do
Day 1: Travel from Luang Prabang by minivan - Boat trip - Walk Through the Forest - Picnic Lunch • Nursery Visit - Hospital Visit - Observe Elephants Bathing - Encounter Elephants & Mahouts - Dinner.
When you arrive at Nam Tien Lake, we will transfer you to the Center by boat. You will have time to settle into your private bungalow before your guide takes you to the forest. Along the way, you walk past the different enclosures where our main activities take place. After enjoying a Laotian style picnic on a lakeside platform, you observe the bath time at the nursery, an area in the forest reserved for our youngest elephants and their mothers.
When the elephants have drunk enough and returned to the forest, you will take the boat back to the Center for the hospital visit. Our Laotian vet assistant or our biologist will introduce you to their world and tell you more about common and uncommon injuries and their respective treatments. It is also the perfect time to ask any questions you may have about the biology of the elephants.
You will then observe one of the elephants’ daily baths and learn more about our giant guests’ playful characters. Elephants love water. They also use the bath time to socialize and strengthen ties in the herd.
After the elephants have washed themselves, you will have the opportunity to see them up close. Their ears flapping, tails swatting while they use the trunk and the trees for a good scratching. Meanwhile, the guide will tell you a little about the background of each elephant. They have all been worked hard before they came here. See if you are already able to recognize the elephants while observing them.
Now it’s time for them to walk back to the forest. After a short trek the mahouts will decide on a place where the elephants can graze for the night.
Before dinner, take a moment to take in the surroundings from one of our viewpoints. You can also go for a swim in the lake, take out a canoe, or visit the museum. At 6 pm one of the staffs will give a presentation on our conservation efforts, feel free to ask your unresolved questions. After dinner you can relax at the bar with the staff and share one of our delicious Lao style cocktails!
Day 2:Breakfast - Meet the elephants in the forest - Observe elephants bathing - Socialization Area Observation - Lunch - Bath time - Target training• Dinner.
On the second day, you will meet up with the elephants in the forest. After spending the night in the jungle, it is time for another bath. Enjoy strolling together with these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.
When they have had their fill of water they are brought to the Socialization Area. This is an area where the elephants can freely interact during a big part of the day, recreating a semi-natural living environment. Here the elephants can enjoy being elephants. Follow the guide around the perimeter to learn more about the group and its dynamics. Take your time on the different platforms to see how a new herd is being formed. This rare opportunity will bring you closer to their natural life, something which is very special about our program and difficult to find anywhere else.
Lunch is served at the Center. Lunch is served at the Center. You will visit our medicinal garden dedicated to elephant care. You can then join our workshop and learn how to create some local handicraft products using bamboo or rattan. While at the workshop, you can observe the elephants having their afternoon hath.
You will meet our mahouts or our vet technician again as they will conduct a Target Training Session. All our elephants are being trained using ‘positive reinforcement’ techniques to facilitate any necessary treatments and to reduce the stress that these treatments or routine checks can give to them. We offer you the chance to follow their work from a safe distance
Day 3: Breakfast - Enrichment - Lunch.
On the third day, your guide will explain the ECC’s Sensorial Enrichment Activities. Enrichment is a dynamic process for enhancing animal environments within the context of the animal’s behavioral biology.
We are providing cognitive enrichment in the form of hidden food, toys, a mud bath etc. to give elephants mental stimulation and help them avoid boredom. They love it! We invite you to take part in this amazing experience by helping our team prepare the enclosure, cutting and hiding food, creating new games for them… to give elephants some challenging exercises to solve. Once they arrive, you will have the opportunity to observe how elephants find ways to discover what you have hidden! This is a novel and unique way to interact with our elephants, contributing directly to their well• being.
Lunch is served at the restaurant. You have some time to relax before we bring you back to Luang Prabang by minivan. You can say your goodbyes to the staff or walk around the Center one last time.
Where will you sleep
Option 1: Traditional Bungalow
You will be spending your night in a traditional bamboo bungalow with a balcony overlooking the lake. You have your own hammock to relax in after a day of observing the elephants. You can take hot showers in our communal washing facilities. We will provide biodegradable soap and shampoo.
(included in the price)
Option 2: The Rosewood Lodge
You can upgrade your stay with a room at our Rosewood Lodge. This beautiful house standing on rosewood stilts is a perfect example of Tai Lue architecture. With 4 vast rooms and private washrooms and terrace, it is the perfect choice for groups of friends or large families willing to enjoy a stay at the ECC with a higher level of comfort. (+ 90 $)
What to expect:
During your visit at the Centre, you will spend a lot of time walking through our protected area. The area is forested and might not always be accessible without you getting dirty. Activities in the forest vary during the rainy season between May and September.
Details
| Departure | The meeting point is at the post office on Chao Fa Ngum road before 8:00 AM. It is close to the crossroads with the tourist office. Our minivan will be waiting for you in front of it and will take you to Xayaboury. |
| Return | When you finish your program, we will bring you back to the same place at about 5:00 PM. The journey between the two towns takes about 2,5 hours. |
| Locations | Luang Prabang |
| What to bring | Hat, sunscreen, comfortable clothes, refillable water bottle |
| What is included | Transfer from and back to Luang Prabang to the Center both ways / English speaking team on site / Set menu meals: Day 1 (L, D), Day 2 (B, L, D), Day 3 (B, L) / Unlimited drinking water refills / Accommodation: a wooden bungalow with communal wash facilities (hot shower) / Activities as described. |
Help us to become 100% single use plastic free company!
We try to avoid plastic as much as possible, that is why we encourage you to bring your own refillable bottle.
We have water refillable station at our office where you can fill up your bottle. If you don’t have one we sell the 0,75 L Green Discovery aluminium bottles at our sales office. At the moment we will still need to use plastic bottles in some of our tours but we hope to reduce it as much as possible. Together with The Green Discovery Sustainability Fund we are working on installing water filters in all the villages we are visiting and we hope in the future we will not need to use plastic bottles anymore.
Still not suit you?