Last Songkran, tourists visited the Chiang Mai elephant camp for free

Maesa has been decked out this year to give the camp a typical Songkran vibe. Among the decorations are paper lanterns made from recovered elephant dung and a sand pagoda. Maesa has a cool, shady vibe that’s perfect for escaping the heat this week (Northern Thailand is experiencing its hottest season).

Maesa’s elephants are expecting that tourists will gather to see them this Thai New Year after their experience during the Covid-19 epidemic. Maesa Elephant Camp, in the Mae Rim district of northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province, expects a huge number of visitors during the Songkran holiday. Travelers are invited to splash in the water with elephants at Chiang Mai’s Maesa Elephant Camp during the Songkran celebrations, which take place this week from April 13 to 16. The camp is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, and admission is free. Thailand’s entrance rules are being loosened gradually, such as the abolition of the pre-arrival PCR test, which is drawing a few more international visitors.

The elephants are prepared to cool down in the lake this Songkran vacation, with temperatures expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius ‘up north.’ The elephants’ mahouts — or minders/trainers — allow visitors to swim in the water with the elephants, take photos, and learn more about Thailand’s most-loved creatures at the 45-year-old camp. Tourists are urged to buy a basket of food to feed the camp’s elephants. The return of tourists will provide much-needed money to the camp, which has struggled financially since the outbreak of Covid-19. Due to a lack of tourists, the camp has been unable to provide a sufficient nutritious diet to its elephants, and 22 elephants have died in the camp in the last two years. The executive director of Maesa Elephant Camp, Anchalee Kalmaphicit, anticipates a big number of tourists visiting the camp this week. Maesa also wishes to celebrate Songkran in order to preserve northern Thailand’s unique cultural heritage.