REVIEW: Dante Elephant Mahout Chiang Mai

Finding an Elephant trek/experience in Chiang Mai should be easy, with literally hundreds of options and everyone selling the elephant experience it's difficult to know which one to go with.

We found Dante through a little travel agent near the Tha Phae Gate, she was a little crazy and kept going on about how she would give us discount which was actually very nice of her. We chose the half day option but there was a full day and 2 day courses if you want to spend longer.

We were picked up at half eight in the morning from our hotel by Big, the guide/mahout and driven through the jungle to the Dante Centre. The first thing we saw when we arrived was another trek coming back with the seats on the backs of the elephants, so I think they run two different tours although we were only given the option for the mahout course which means you sit on the elephant without. I was travelling in a group of three and we were the only ones doing the half day course, with about 6-8 other people doing the full day course. Everyone was taken to the shed/shelter where we fed the elephants bananas and got to say hello to the little baby of the pack, who's name was 'small' in Thai. We spent about 15 minutes feeding and 'meeting' the elephants before we were separated from the group to try out riding and controlling the elephants. This is the point at which it becomes clear the mahouts and the elephants have a good relationship and clearly trust each other. We each tried riding the elephants on their necks which was the traditional way and when they get up and first start walking it was very precarious, make sure you have good balance!

The river is the best part, we were the only ones doing the half day tour so it meant that it was just my friends and myself on the trek which was pretty cool. The elephants clearly know where they are going and love the water, you will ride them into the water where they will tell you to get off into the water and start washing them. This is where the acrobatics start. We sat on the trunk, I got dunked in the water, the elephants loved to suck up the dirty gritty water from the bottom of the river and soak you with it, but it truly is a completely unique experience. We headed back to the camp and said goodbye to the elephants, before being taken back to the city treated to a basic meal of a curry of something with rice.

Would I go again? Probably not, riding an elephant in my opinion is something I want to do only once in my life, this camp has been given mixed reviews and sometimes they completely contradict each other. The elephants don't wander free, but are chained by one leg, this didn't seem to agitate all but one who was swaying from side to side quite erratically and it was becoming painful to watch, she obviously wasn't happy. We chose this place because it didn't use the seats that are traditionally used on treks as it's not good for the elephants backs yet it was clear they were running two types of tour, whether it was under the name Dante or not. I never saw the mahouts do anything to the elephants though and they obviously had a good relationship. This is a great place to try out elephant trekking and mahout training. It's something I think you have to make your own mind up about whether you think the elephants are well treated or not, although everything in Thailand is always going to be geared towards tourism some are better than others. I'm planning another trip back to Thailand very soon and plan on visiting the Elephant Nature Park. Anyone been?

Half day is around 1,800 bht and full day is around 2,400. Try to get a discount from whoever you book it from because more often than not you will.