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Elephant Earth Expeditions - Thailand and Laos

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Elephant Earth Expeditions - Thailand and Laos
  • Category: Wildlife/Conservation Initiative
  • Season: February
  • Location: Thailand - Laos
  • Cost: US $3,950 + tax
  • Min Group: 8-10
  • Customizable: No
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About the trip

If you love elephants, want to learn more about them and are up for some real adventure, then this is the trip for you! With veterinarian Dr. Dag Goering and author Maria Coffey, co-founders of Elephant Earth Initiative, in S. Thailand and throughout Laos you meet top experts in the elephant field, take part in field studies, hike through protected forest areas that are off limits to most tourists and explore an astonishingly pristine and remote valley threatened by a hydro-electric project. With luck you see elephants in the wild, and for sure you have hands-on experience with captive elephants as you learn about their health and welfare issues. A portion of the trip price goes directly to elephant projects supported by Elephant Earth Initiative.

 

Our odyssey begins in Southern Thailand and land up right on the Nam Kading River into an area of pristine wilderness and vital elephant migration corridors For the last leg of our journey we fly north to the Luang Prabang and settle in to a small eco-resort on a beautiful river. We spend 2 days with mahouts, learn how to care for and ride elephants and trek with them through evocative landscapes.

 

Add to this mix our cultural tours in Kanchanaburi, site of the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, in Vientiane, Laos’s sleepy capital city. This is for those who want an unforgettable adventure in some of the most beautiful, tranquil and unspoilt areas of S.E. Asia.

 

Note: A detailed packing list will be shared with you once you have signed up for the trip



Duration – 13 days
Acco - hotels 8 nights
Camping - 7 nights / Field Station - 1 night
Begin / End - Bangkok, Thailand / Luang Prabang, Laos

Cost Inclusive of

1.  All ground transportation
2.  Airport transfers on the first and last days of the trip
3.  Equipment and entry fees for all activities if any
4.  All accommodation and most meals (some lunches might be on your own)
5.  Special access fees
6.  Lectures by elephant experts
5.  $500 of each trip price goes towards projects that Elephant Earth Initiative is supporting.
6.  Cultural tour guiding and entrance fees

Cost Not Inclusive of

1.  International flights
2.  Internal flights
3.  Visa processing fees
4.  Beverages and alcoholic drinks .
5.  Personal insurance and gratuities
6.  Medical insurance, including emergency evacuation (We also strongly advise you to purchase trip cancellation insurance.)
7.  Any expenditure of personal nature, such as telephone calls, laundry and others not mentioned in the itinerary




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Cost per person:
Land Cost: US $3,450
plus $500 donation to Elephant Earth Initiative.
Total: US $3,950
Extensions:
3 to 5 day Extension trips to Angkor Wat available before or after trip.

Itinerary

Day 1 
Your small, exclusive group meets in Bangkok and transfers to Kanchanaburi, where you spend the afternoon in discussions with Dr. Dag Goering, Maria Coffey and team members of Elephant Conservation Network. 

Day 2 
After visits to village projects run by Elephant Conservation Network, you hike into a protected forest area (normally off limits for tourists), examining signs of recent elephant movement and hoping for a wild elephant sighting! You camp at the Rangers Station and have discussions with the ranger. 

Day 3
You visit villages where ECN is tackling human-elephant conflict issues, then return to Kanchanaburi for dinner next to the famous bridge and historic ‘death railway’ over the River Kwai.

Day 4 
After arriving in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, you have dinner with the Klaus Schwettman, who pioneered the renowned elephant tower in Ban Na village to help mitigate a serious human-elephant conflict situation. 

Day 5 
In Ban Na village you meet the village chief who once hunted elephants and now actively protects them, and you spend a night in the tower.

Day 6 
A long boat transports you up the beautiful Nam Kading River to the remote Wildlife Conservation Society Field Station, where you have a workshop on camera trapping techniques. 

Day 7 
After a half day hike through pristine forest, you arrive at the field work area and set up the camera traps. Dinner is by a campfire under the stars, and from your tent you listen to the magical sounds of the forest. 

Day 8 
Back in Vientiane, you relax in your comfortable hotel or explore this sleepy city, before having a delicious dinner in a restaurant that supports and trains street kids.

Day 9 
A short flight takes you to Luang Prabang, the royal city of Laos, where you enjoy an afternoon cultural tour. 

Day 10 
After a free morning in enchanting Luang Prabang, you transfer to an elephant camp to meet the elephants you will be spending the next two days with, and have discussions with the mahouts, local veterinarian and camp owner. 

Day 11 
A day of learning about captive elephant health and welfare, as well as bathing, riding and feeding the elephants, and taking them into the forest for the night. 

Day 12 
An early start with the mahouts to collect their elephants from the forest. After a bathing and feeding session you set off with the elephants for a day’s trek, crossing rivers and visiting a village. Back at camp, you feed the elephants and say goodbye to them and their mahouts before returning to Luang Prabang for our final, celebratory dinner. 

Day 13 
After farewells to your fellow elephant lovers, you depart for your homeward flight or onward journey. 

Trip Ends Here!
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