DAY ONE 23-May-2024
The Amazing Elephant Experience
Pick-up from your hotel or the airport in Phuket, Khao Lak, Phang Nga, Krabi, Surat Thani or even from Koh Samui and transfer to Khao Sok. En route, glimpses of tropical rural life here in southern Thailand can be caught. Upon arrival at Elephant Hills Camp, a buffet lunch is served at noon, and a variety of delicious Thai dishes cooked not too spicy awaits you.
After lunch, you can relax during a jungle river canoe trip down the Sok River. The canoes are very stable and safe; life jackets are provided as well as a local river guide to paddle the canoe. Drift along the jungle river passing Limestone Mountains and cliffs covered with exotic tropical vegetation. Sometimes hornbill birds can be seen flying high overhead or reptiles basking in the sun on the riverbanks. From the canoe, you can experience some of the last areas of primary rainforest, a world that has changed little in thousands of years.
Get out of the canoe and head over to the elephant park. Here you can see, touch and learn about the life of Thai elephants and about the Elephant Hills elephant conservation project. Your guide will also teach you about the mahout, the elephant caretaker. While participating in our amazing Elephant Experience you will get very close to and even get your hands on these magnificent animals, you will have the chance to interact with them and learn the secrets of their mahouts. You will prepare and feed them one of their daily meals, including their dietary supplements that help with their digestion and their overall well-being. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really experience the Asian Elephant, this part of the world’s largest land animal!
In the late afternoon return to Elephant Hills for dinner and overnight in your luxury tent. The jungle bar will be open for people wanting to exchange stories of their day’s experiences at the lake, and as extra entertainment you can witness a different movie, a different dance performance and a different cooking demonstration today – enough program to keep you busy until dinner, and enough action to ensure sweet dreams after you have been lulled to sleep by the background symphony of insects and frogs.
DAY TWO 24-May-2024
Mysterious Mangroves
Wake up to the sounds of nature and birds calling from the bushes next to the tent. By the time the sun comes up and the mist over the rainforest-covered mountains to the south of Elephant Hills clears, gibbons’ territorial morning calls echo down the valley. Tea and coffee making facilities are available in your tent for early risers; breakfast is at your leisure.
Transfer to the West Coast. Board a speed boat near Takua Pa to explore the mysterious maze of channels in the mangrove forest, it really feels like some primeval swamp. Our well-trained guides keep an eye out for wildlife that might be spotted along the way, like mangrove cat snakes, reticulated pythons or red-tailed racers. Also, a wide variety of bird species inhabit the area – make sure you bring your binoculars.
Cruising through the channels we finally meet and board a classical Burmese junk. Bathroom facilities are available, and lunch will be served on board, but not before you have the opportunity to explore the nearby mangrove creek in a self-paddled canoe – a silent journey into this dense, green world, full of natural wonders waiting to be appreciated by you. Very few people live in this area, so little has changed here in hundreds of years. Being out here gives you the feeling of travelling back in time when nature was still untouched and mobile phones didn’t exist. The panoramic views of distant mangroves and banyan trees stretch to the horizon. Finally, you are safely transferred to the camp.
After all this activity close to nature it is time for a hot shower in the unique bathroom of your luxury safari tent. Relax and enjoy the panoramic views of the surrounding jungle-covered mountains – this is 100% real nature! A wide selection of cocktails, wines and spirits is available at the “Jungle Explorer’s Club Bar”. 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 specialities. At 8:00 pm it is time for dinner in this unique location beside the rainforest, the sounds and the atmosphere will make this a memorable meal. Spend the night in your luxury safari tent with a comfortable bed, reading lights, hot water and a Western-style toilet. The tents’ doors and windows are covered with mosquito netting as well as canvas flaps, so insects and reptiles will not bother you. Temperatures at night drop a little, and the tents are well-ventilated; blankets keep you warm in the chill of the night. This is real luxury so close to the heart of the rainforest!
DAY THREE 25-May-2024
Spectacular Cheow Larn Lake
Wake up to the sounds of nature and birds calling from the bushes next to the tent. By the time the sun comes up and the mist over the rainforest-covered mountains to the south of Elephant Hills clears, gibbons’ territorial morning calls echo down the valley. Tea and coffee-making facilities are available in your tent for early risers; breakfast is at your leisure.
Today you will explore Cheow-Larn-Lake by local long-tail boat. Cruise across emerald waters passing towering rainforest-covered Limestone Mountains to the “Guilin” of Southern Thailand. The Cheow-Larn-Lake is a little-known wonder of southern Thailand and features a first-class habitat for wild elephants, the rare Asian ox, hornbills and hundreds of other tropical birds, various monkey species, amphibians, reptiles and even tigers and leopards. This combined with a myriad of other species hidden in the rainforest-covered hills make it one of the most unique and important areas of rainforest in South East Asia. Take your time to marvel at the majestic mountains rising sheer out of the water and experience nature at its best!
Head to the floating Elephant Hills Rainforest Camp, situated in the heart of the national park, where our staff will check you into your luxury tent with private en-suite bathrooms, solar- and wind-powered electricity and hot and cold water showers. Find all the conveniences of a modern hotel room inside, combined with solid beds, tea and coffee-making facilities and totally unspoilt nature right at your doorstep. Sit back and enjoy the surrounding views of Cheow-Larn-Lake whilst enjoying a fabulous buffet lunch of Thai dishes which are prepared directly on the property.
Well invigorated you will come face to face with the jungle by exploring it on foot. It is not an army survival exercise, even though the trail is quite steep and times and can be slippery when wet – please talk to your guide if you are feeling unsure about the trek. But remember: There are no prizes for the fastest, snakes and spiders do not jump out at you – it is just an excellent opportunity to explore the ecology of one of the world’s oldest rainforests, to 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, and beautiful butterflies buzz around – every day is different, but it is always truly wonderful to discover the great variety of life-forms that co-exists here together. Take this advice: Walk slowly. Look, learn and listen. Then you too will start to discover some of the rainforest’s secrets.
Watch the sun set behind the towering limestone mountains from the deckchair in front of your tent after a refreshing dip in the water and the inevitable shower. Dinner will be served shortly, and then it is only you and the intriguing sounds of nature under a starlit sky. No fairy tale will ever be that fabulous.
DAY FOUR 26-May-2024
Untouched. Untroubled. Unrivalled.
Wake up to the sounds of Gibbons calling high up in the trees, whilst the clearing mist unveils the true beauty of the lake. Don’t think twice: As the jungle starts to stir, you could already be out there exploring prehistoric beauty in your canoe! Or do you wish to submerge into the glassy surface of the lake first? Whatever you choose: By tomorrow you will already regret the things you have not done.
After breakfast, your guide will invite you to join in on a guided canoe safari into the little channels and side arms of Cheow-Larn-Lake. Take one of our kayaks and start scanning the treetops for lazy hornbill birds or energetic primates. You will find yourself in the heart of the rainforest on a silent adventure – words cannot do this experience justice.
Before travelling on, the last lunch is served at the floating tented camp. Bon appétit, they say; then it is time to return to the pier and move on to your next destination. The real joy, though, this inner feeling of complete happiness, will not be transferred away. It stays with you, right there, right in your heart. What remains is the memory. Untouched. Untroubled. Unrivalled.
