My husband and I will be at the Anantara in Chiang Rai in November. I was told that if we're interested in any of the elephant camp activities, we need to book ahead. However, I'm not sure which activity would be the most fun (or scenic?): 1 hr hill trek, 1 hr river trek, 2 hr adventure trek, or mahout training. I'd appreciate input from anyone who's familiar with the elephant camp in Chiang Rai or elsewhere. Thanks!

The treks you'll be riding an elephant the whole time. For the mahout training, it's more strenuous and much dirtier... The mahout training is most of a day. If I were you (and I'm not) I'd opt for one of the elephant treks - I don't think it really matters which one. The question to ask is whether you want to spend two hours atop an elephant or if one hour would be enough.

The elephant camp is on the grounds of the Anantara. The Anantara is an hour drive from teh Chiang Rai airport. The nearest town is Chiang Sean.

Thanks Kathie! So a (probably one-hour) trek it will be. If some Fodorite can tell me which trek might be the most scenic, that would be great. Otherwise I'll just take my chances.

We did their 3 day training last August. The 3 days were identical, so it is not worth the time or money to do 3 days there imo.

The mahout training is two sessions in a day, morning and afternoon. Morning began at 6:30 last August, and consisted of driving in a buggy down to the camp, walking up the hill about 5 minutes to find the elephants, ride them down into the camp, wash them with hoses, feed them bananas, practice riding and steering between pilons and around the huts, ride the elephants back up to the hotel. Morning session finished at about 8:00 - 8:30.

You are then free until the afternoon session, which for us began at 1:00. It consisted of a trek around the resort up to viewpoints or through foreset, and finished with a swim in the river or pond (which depends on season) for the elephants to cool off, then a ride to their night time grazing place and leave them there. Finished around 3:00.

The mahout training fills your day, but much of the time you are not doing mahout training but are free...just the timing of the afternoon session prevents you from really venturing out.

If you booked just a trek, your experience would be similar to the mahout training except you would ride in a seat basket thing rather than on the neck bareback...not sure about the river/pond swim.

There are a variety of paths/roads you can take for treks, and you can just ask them for a recommendation for a scenic one.

Enjoyed reading the differences between these activities. We will be there during the first week in November. Sanshe - - when is your trip?

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you....I was out of town. We will be there Nov. 5-7!

Can anyone compare the Chiang Rai elephant camp with the Tiger Trails one near Luang Prabang? We're considering one or the other.