Riding on elephants in Namuang Safari Park on Samui

The island of Samui is half the size of Phuket, but it competes with it in the struggle for tourists’ attention. The magnificent beaches with white coral sand, picturesque lagoons, mountain waterfalls and bottomless blue sky contribute to this. One of the most popular and loved by holidaymakers excursions – is an elephant ride in the safari park Namuang on Samui. Like everywhere else in Thailand, they are revered. If not as sacred, then very respected animals. They are not the mawkish specimens you see in European zoos. Each of the elephants in Samui is a bright personality, many of them have a sense of humor. You can go up close to them, touch their skin, pet them and treat them with fruit. Today we’ll tell you about where to ride elephants in Samui.

Namuang Safari Park

Most of the tourists who come to the island tend to buy various excursions to Samui, and especially to ride elephants at Namuang Safari Park. It is located among the tropical jungle on the southern coast of the island, not far from the highest Waterfall Samui – Waterfall 2. In addition to the elephant ride, visitors are invited to see shows with trained monkeys, crocodiles and even snakes. Elephants are kept in a special camp – an elephantarium, where they are cared for and watched by specially trained herders. Both adults and cubs live there. You can feed the elephant and even take part in its daily bathing.

Waterfall 2

For those who find riding an elephant too extreme, there is a car route through the jungle to Waterfall 2. Tourists are taken through it by trucks with open bodies. You will see a riot of tropical nature and a stream of water that falls from a height of 80 meters into a small rocky bowl, filled to the brim with crystal clear water, perfectly illuminating in the heat of the afternoon. The tour to the waterfall lasts about one hour.

animal show

The elephants in Samui are not the only animals that work to entertain the public. After the elephants demonstrate soccer class, show other tricks and even give massages to brave volunteers in the audience, crocodile tamers and snakes will appear on stage. To put your head into the toothy jaws and kiss a poisonous cobra – it’s not a sight for the faint-hearted. The show ends with a friendly group of macaques, who demonstrate agility and tirelessness in the collection of coconuts. The Koh Samui elephant show lasts an hour and a half.

elephant-ridingElephant riding in Samui is incredibly popular. The route winds through the pristine rainforest preserved in Namuang Safari Park. Traditionally the elephant’s neck is the back of the elephant, and like the maharajahs of old, visitors can sit on the elephant’s back with a sturdy platform for two people. The elephant can be climbed on its back with a special ramp. The elephant is ruled by a pole with a sharp metal tip. It’s not very humane, but after hundreds of years of dealing with these animals no more effective way to enforce obedience was invented, because elephants are really thick-skinned.

Tour prices

The minimum cost for a 30-minute elephant ride at Namuang Safari Park is 600 baht for a children’s ticket and 700 for an adult ticket. If you want to combine riding with watching the show, bathing the animal and visiting Waterfall 2, such an excursion will start from 750 to 1400 baht. The price includes medical insurance and transfer from and to the hotel.

Safe elephant-riding rules

The elephant, despite its outward friendliness, remains an animal whose way of thinking is not fully known, even by those who interact with it from birth. Even a small baby elephant, offended by the unknown, can cause injury to humans. What to say about the many-toned adults. Therefore, we must follow some rules when dealing with elephants.

Do not approach an elephant without a handler.

Avoid approaching the animal so that it can see you and can assess the degree of your danger.
Trust your feelings. If the animal disgusts you or arouses antipathy, it is better not to approach him.
Trust your feelings.
Harsh unfamiliar smells, sounds, excessive gesticulation can frighten an elephant or make it upset.
Shammies tend to be calmer. But only if they are not in a state of sexual excitement.
The older elephants are less temperamental and more experienced. Travelling on the mountain trail on them is safer.

The rules of communication with elephants are simple and not different from those that are accepted when dealing with any domestic animal. For example, with a cow or a horse. If you abide by them you’ll get the most out of your Koh Samui elephant experience!

Namuang Safari Park on map Samui

Namuang Safari Park on Samui

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