Jungle & Lake Safari at Elephant Hills
Bite-sized trip
Day 1 – The amazing elephant experience
Today you’ll be picked up and transferred to the Elephant Hills Camp. En-route, you’ll catch glimpses of rural life in southern Thailand. Upon arrival at the Elephant Hills Camp, you’ll be served a buffet lunch made up of a variety of delicious Thai dishes. After lunch, you can relax during a jungle river canoe trip down the Sok River. Drift along the jungle river passing limestone mountains and cliffs covered with tropical vegetation. From the canoe you can experience some of the last areas of primary rainforest, a world that has changed little in thousands of years.
Back on dry land, you’ll learn about the life of Asian elephants and about the Elephant Hills elephant conservation project. You will have the chance to interact with the elephants and learn the secrets of their mahouts. You’ll prepare and feed them one of their daily meals, including their dietary supplements that help with their digestion and their overall well-being.
After all this activity close to nature it’s time for a hot shower in the bathroom of your safari tent. Relax and enjoy the panoramic views of the surrounding jungle-covered mountains – this is 100% real nature! Optional evening entertainment includes a movie presentation, a traditional Thai dance performance from local school children and a cooking demonstration, where you learn how to properly prepare Thai specialties. In the evening, dinner is served in the restaurant, with the jungle sounds and atmosphere making it a memorable meal.
Day 2 – Spectacular Cheow Larn Lake
Wake up to the sounds of nature and birds calling. Today you will explore Cheow Larn Lake by local long-tail boat. Cruise across emerald waters passing rainforest covered limestone mountains. The area is a little-known wonder of southern Thailand and is home to wild elephants, the rare Asian ox, hornbills and hundreds of other tropical birds, various monkey species and reptiles. This, combined with a myriad of other species hidden in the rainforest-covered hills, makes it one of the most unique and important areas of rainforest in south-east Asia.
You’ll then head to the floating Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp, situated in the heart of the national park, and check in to your tent. Sit back and enjoy the surrounding views of Cheow Larn Lake whilst enjoying a buffet lunch of Thai dishes.
In the afternoon come face to face with the jungle by exploring it on foot. It’s not an army survival exercise, but simply an excellent opportunity to explore the ecology of one of the world’s oldest rainforests. You’ll see a great variety of exotic plants, tropical hardwood trees with huge roots, orchids, palms, ferns, bamboos, mosses… the variety is huge. Birds such as the hornbill live high up above, gibbons can often be heard calling to their mates, a macaque or a leaf monkey may be swinging through the branches, beautiful butterflies buzz around. Watch the sun set behind the towering limestone mountains from the deckchair in front of your tent after a refreshing dip in the water.
Day 3 – Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp
After breakfast today, your guide will invite you to join a guided canoe safari into the smaller channels of Cheow Larn Lake. Scan the treetops for hornbills and energetic primates as you paddle leisurely along. Before traveling on, you’ll enjoy a final lunch served at the floating tented camp. Then it is time to return to the pier and move on to your next destination.
Accommodation
