Guide · Elephants on foot

Elephant trekking in Chiang Mai, on your own two feet

Elephant trekking in Chiang Mai once meant a seat on an elephant's back. The days sold now put you on a forest trail and the elephants at a sanctuary. Here is how they combine.

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Editorial team, trekkingtourchiangmai.comUpdated October 27, 2026Read time: 6 min18 sources

The tour behind this guide 3-in-1: Doi Inthanon Tour, Elephant Sanctuary, and Trekking Trail 4.8 (1,166 reviews) 10 hours from$48per person Check availabilityCancel at no cost until 24 hrs before you set off

Quick answer, combined days

01Combo with a trek: Sanctuary, Doi Inthanon and a 2-hour trek, 1,166 reviews.
02Price: From $48 on Viator for 10 to 12 hours.
03Riding: The Viator day and the monk trail day both state no riding.
04With a night: The 2-day trek walks 2 hours to a sanctuary on day two.
05Short on time: A morning with a Wat Pha Lat hike and an elephant camp.

What the words mean today

For years, elephant trekking in Chiang Mai meant riding through the forest on an elephant's back. The listings compared on this page sell something else: you walk, and the elephants are met at a sanctuary or camp where riding is not part of the programme. The Viator day this page recommends states strictly no riding and no hooks at its sanctuary.

Other combined days say the same in their own words. A Doi Suthep and elephant day states that elephant riding is prohibited and that the elephants are not forced to perform. A 3-day trek with an elephant experience lists no elephant riding. The 2-day trek this site sells lists riding the animals as not allowed.

What remains differs between venues: feeding, bathing, walking alongside or simply watching. Read each listing's own description of the elephant stop before you book, and decide what you are comfortable with. This page looks at how the elephant part fits into a day of walking.

The 3-in-1 day, as listed

Sanctuary, summit, pagodas and a trail

Morning

Elephant sanctuary

2 hours at the Living Green Foundation sanctuary.
Late morning

Doi Inthanon summit

25 minutes at the top, 2,565 meters.
Midday

King and Queen pagodas

60 minutes at the twin pagodas.
Afternoon

Pha Dok Siew trek

A 2-hour trek with a local guide to the waterfall.
Late afternoon

Ban Mae Klang Luang

30 minutes in a hill tribe village before the drive.

The Doi Inthanon and elephant sanctuary tour

The Doi Inthanon and elephant sanctuary tour this page recommends is sold on Viator as a 3-in-1 day, and it is the combined day with the most reviews that includes a guided trek. It spends 2 hours with elephants at the Living Green Foundation sanctuary, then climbs Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters the highest mountain in Thailand, for 25 minutes at the top and 60 minutes at the King and Queen pagodas.

The walking part is a 2-hour trek with a local guide on the Pha Dok Siew trail to its waterfall, which the operator can switch to Kew Mae Pan or another route with the weather or official announcements; the day ends with 30 minutes at the hill tribe village of Ban Mae Klang Luang. It runs 10 to 12 hours and starts from $48, with 1,166 reviews averaging 4.77.

Included are bottled water, lunch, an air-conditioned vehicle, an English-speaking guide and insurance; admission fees are not. Shared groups can reach 36, and a full refund is possible if you cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure. The record says it suits all fitness levels and runs in bad weather while it is still safe.

Reviews

How many travellers have rated each combined day

reviews

Review counts on GetYourGuide and, for the 3-in-1 day, on Viator.

Combined days

Elephants plus a walk, side by side

Day	Elephant stop	Walking	Length	Price
Viator 3-in-1	Living Green, 2 hrs	2-hour trek	10 to 12 hrs	from $48
Inthanon & sanctuary	Feeding, bathing	Photo stops	1 day	from $76
12-hour programme	Living Green	Pha Dok Siew trail	12 hrs	from $53
Monk trail & camp	Camp, 3.5 hrs	40-minute hike	1 day	from $54
2-day village trek	Sanctuary on day 2	Two days on foot	2 days	from $96

Elephant stops, walking and lengths as each listing or record states them; prices are starting prices and change by date.

On GetYourGuide

Three elephant days with a walk in them

Chiang Mai: Doi Inthanon Hiking & Elephant Sanctuary Program

Most walking

12-hour programme

Sanctuary, Inthanon, trail

Length: 12 hrs
Reviews: 443
Price: from $53

Check the day

Chiang Mai: Elephant Sanctuary, Monk Trail & Doi Suthep Tour

Near the city

Monk trail & camp

Wat Pha Lat hike, then elephants

Length: 1 day
Reviews: 616
Price: from $54

Check the day

Chiang Mai: Doi Inthanon and Elephant Sanctuary Tour

Most reviews

Inthanon & sanctuary

Waterfall, pagodas, elephants

Length: 1 day
Reviews: 1,251
Price: from $76

Check the day

Decision helper

Which elephant and walking day?

Choose by how much walking and mountain you want.

I want the most for the price I want a longer hike on the mountain I want to stay near Chiang Mai I want a night in the hills too I only want to watch elephants

The Viator 3-in-1

Sanctuary, summit, pagodas, a 2-hour trek and a village in 10 to 12 hours.

The Mae Wang and Inthanon day

4.5 hours of guided walking and hiking in the park.

Monk trail and camp

A 40-minute Wat Pha Lat hike, then 3.5 hours at an elephant camp.

The 2-day trek

A Karen village night, then 2 hours on foot to the sanctuary.

An observation add-on

One overnight trip observes rescued elephants from a safe distance.

Some large species are now extinct in the area, including as Wild Elephants, Gaur, Banteng, and Tigers.

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), ThailandSource 1

Chiang Mai elephant sanctuary and trekking on GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide sells several Chiang Mai elephant sanctuary and trekking days. The most reviewed combines a day in Doi Inthanon National Park with elephants, with feeding and bathing at a waterfall and photo stops at a waterfall and the twin pagodas; it has 1,251 reviews and starts from $76. Its record does not name a guided trek, so it suits sightseers more than walkers.

For a walk on the mountain, a 12-hour small-group day limited to 12 visits Living Green Elephant Sanctuary with lunch, then Doi Inthanon, naming a no-riding sanctuary, the twin pagodas, the Pha Dok Siew nature trail and a Karen coffee farm. It starts from $53 with 443 reviews.

A longer variant spends 3 hours in Mae Wang District with tea, a guided walk and wildlife viewing, then 4.5 hours of guided walking and hiking in Doi Inthanon National Park, in 12 hours. It has 57 reviews so far. Both ask you to bring warm clothes for the mountain.

Map

From the old city to the roof of Thailand

First the hills around Chiang Mai where the treks and hikes go, then Doi Inthanon with its summit, pagodas, trails and falls.

Map of the hills around Chiang Mai with Doi Suthep, Doi Inthanon, Mae Wang and Mae Kampong — Around Chiang Mai

Map of Doi Inthanon National Park with the summit, the twin pagodas, the trails and the main waterfalls — Doi Inthanon

1
Chiang Mai old city
Start of the site tour: the meeting point is Baan Meesuk in the old town, with pickup available.
In Google Maps ↗
3
Doi Suthep temple
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep stands at 1,056 metres, an easy half hour drive from downtown.²
5
Thailand's highest summit
The top of Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters.³
In Google Maps ↗
6
Mae Wang
Mae Wang District is one of the districts Doi Inthanon National Park covers.⁴
In Google Maps ↗
7
Mae Kampong
Ban Mae Kampong, a village in Mae On District, won the PATA Gold Award 2010 in the culture category.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
8
Summit stupa
The stupa of King Inthawichayanon stands at the summit, linked to the visitor center by an elevated walkway.⁶ ⁷
In Google Maps ↗
9
Twin pagodas and Kew Mae Pan
The Great Holy Relics Pagodas near the top; TAT lists give the nearby Kio Mae Pan Nature Trail as closed from 1 June to 31 October.⁸ ⁹ ¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pha Dok Siew
Pha Dok Siao Waterfall has 10 tiers and lies about 1 kilometer on foot from the park headquarters.¹¹ ¹²
In Google Maps ↗
12
Mae Klang Luang
Ban Mae Klang Luang, a hill tribe village on several Doi Inthanon day trips.
In Google Maps ↗
13
Siriphum Waterfall
Twin falls reached on foot through the flower plots of the Inthanon Royal Project.¹³
In Google Maps ↗
14
Wachirathan Waterfall
About 70 to 80 meters high, at milestone 20 of Highway 1009.¹⁴ ¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
15
Mae Klang Waterfall
Flows all year into large pools; rainy-season currents make swimming perilous.¹⁶
In Google Maps ↗
16
Mae Ya Waterfall
Thirty tiers and approximately 260 meters in height.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
17
Mae Pan Waterfall
Four tiers and over 100 meters tall, about 400 meters on foot from the ranger station.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Packing for elephants and a trail

For the sanctuary

Clothes that can get wet and dirty
A towel and a change of clothes
Sandals for the river
Insect spray

For the trail and temples

Trekking shoes
A jacket for the mountain
Shoulders and knees covered
Cash for park admission

Cost calculator

Price an elephant and trekking day

Pick a combined day and the size of your party to get the total.

Viator 3-in-110 to 12 hrsfrom $48 12-hour programme12 hrsfrom $53 Monk trail & camp1 dayfrom $54 Inthanon & sanctuary1 dayfrom $76

People 2

Total from$96

each from $48

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Starting prices come from GetYourGuide, converted with European Central Bank rates; booking reveals the exact figure.

Video

An elephant sanctuary and Doi Inthanon on one trip

The video loads only when you tap play.

A morning hike with elephants in the afternoon

If you would rather stay close to the city, one day pairs the Doi Suthep monk's trail with an elephant camp. It walks the Wat Pha Lat hike for 40 minutes, visits Wat Phra That Doi Suthep for 1.5 hours, then drives 80 minutes to Pon Elephant Thailand for 3.5 hours of camp activities. It has 616 reviews averaging 4.91 and starts from $54.

Its listing suggests spare clothes for the bath with the elephants, where you will likely end up wet and muddy, and asks for knees and shoulders covered at the temple. That combination means packing for two very different settings: a temple in the morning and a muddy river in the afternoon.

The trade-off against the Doi Inthanon days is height and scenery for time. The temple hike is short and the drives are shorter; the mountain days spend more hours in a vehicle but put you on Thailand's highest summit and a longer trail. Our page on the monk's trail covers the walk itself in detail.

Elephants on an overnight trek

The trek this site is built around includes elephants as well, on the second day. After a night in a Karen hill tribe village and breakfast, you walk on for 2 hours to an elephant sanctuary home to a group of rescued elephants, where you feed and bathe them and learn about them, before a bamboo raft ride.

It runs 2 days in a small group of up to 12 and starts from $96. Compared with the one-day combos, the elephants are a smaller part of a bigger journey, and you reach them on foot rather than by van. Other overnight options include a 2-day trip from Mae Taeng with an elephant observation add-on and a 2-day trek with an elephant camp visit.

If watching rather than touching matters to you, the observation add-on is the clearer fit; its listing describes observing rescued elephants from a safe distance in a no-riding setting. If you want to feed and bathe them, the 2-day trek's sanctuary stop includes both.

Choosing between the combined days

Start with the walk you want. If the trek matters most, the Viator 3-in-1 day and the 12-hour GetYourGuide programme both name the Pha Dok Siew trail, and the Mae Wang and Inthanon day plans the most hours on foot in the park. If the mountain matters less than time, the monk's trail morning keeps the drives short.

Then look at the elephant stop. The 3-in-1 day spends 2 hours at the sanctuary, the monk trail day 3.5 hours at the camp, and the Doi Inthanon and sanctuary day with 1,251 reviews lists feeding and bathing at a waterfall. Longer is not always better; what the elephants are allowed to do, and how close you are asked to get, matters more than the minutes.

Last, check the logistics: the group size, whether park fees are included and where you are picked up. The Viator day runs shared groups of up to 36 and leaves admission fees out, while the 12-hour programme limits groups to 12 and includes pickup. Those details shape the day as much as the headline sights.

What to bring for a day of both

An elephant and trekking day asks for two sets of kit. The Viator day's record lists clothes you do not mind getting wet and dirty, sandals, trekking shoes, a towel, insect spray and a jacket, since the mountain is colder than Chiang Mai. The 12-hour GetYourGuide day wants spare clothes plus a towel for bathing the elephants, and a warm jacket for Doi Inthanon.

Add the temple dress code if your day visits the pagodas or Doi Suthep: casual dress or better, no flip-flops, shoulders and knees covered. A light long-sleeved shirt and quick-dry trousers cover both the temple and the trail, and a dry bag keeps your phone safe at the river.

Keep your distance from the elephants unless a keeper invites you closer, never feed them anything you brought yourself, and follow the staff's instructions at every stop. These are large animals, and the safest visits are the calm ones.

Your trek