Elephant tours are a controversial subject. Although elephants (‘chang’ in Thai) are the country’s much revered national animal, Thai elephant tourism has a poor track record, with exploitative training, overwork, and appalling living conditions unfortunately common finds. Recent years have seen a backlash against such practices – from both tourists and Thai tourism providers alike – and we are pleased to find a shift from ‘park’ to ‘conservation centre’, where you’ll find animals treated with respect and care, and physical interaction (particularly riding which as a company do not support) kept to a minimum. This is a big deal for our consultants so please be assured that any elephant interaction included in your itinerary will have been personally vetted.