MandaLao Elephant Sanctuary

leboughton
Mar 12
2 min read

Spent our last full day in SE Asia at this elephant sanctuary outside of Luang Prabang with Daryl and Leslie, a lovely Canadian couple who were the only people who did the full 31 day tour with me.

This was an amazing experience. - we donned knee high mud boots, took a small boat downriver, and set off into the bush to get up close and personal with an adult and child elephant pair.

This sanctuary rescues elephants from bad conditions, mostly at other sites that still allow people to ride them, force them to pull large trees out of the forest for logging, or that otherwise abuse them. There are 12 rescued elephants on site, ranging in age from 4 to in their 70s.

It was amazing to get so close to them. They have free rein over 600 hectares of bush, and are eating from it constantly. They love bamboo. They are accompanied 24/7 by local men who have bonded with them, and keep them from destroying adjacent farmlands or injuring themselves or others.

The terrain was often steep and slippery, and because of that, I was often holding onto trees for dear life. Consequently, my own photos in the bush were mostly mediocre, so I borrowed a few shots that captured their grandeur from Daryl.