Avis MANDALAO Luang Prabang

Nous ne voulions pas interagir mais seulement voir des éléphants de près !
C’est fait mais ce que l’on vous vante est quelque peu « chip » en réalité. 4 éléphants à qui l’on donne des bananes et descendre à la rivière….

I’m not really sure about this place. My husband has worked with Elephants in Thailand for over 20 years and we were excited to come to MandaLao because of all of the great reviews.

After getting there, my husband and I realized oh my God!! This is not half as good as a lot of the sanctuary outside of Chiang Mai

Substandard care fences them, Mahouts obviously just pushing the Elephants around as they follow bananas

Not what I expected

Great opportunity to bond with and feed the elephants

If you want to chill, feed, and hike with with happy elephants in one of the most ethical sanctuaries that exists, this is the place to go.

Great experience!

Me atendieron bien pero no tome ningún tour quería grabar para mi video en YouTube y recomendar este lugar pero no me dejaron

Incredible and ethical experience. This is a must do tour if you want to spend time and connect with elephants, at the same time knowing you are helping the conservation project. Choose this tour, not one that offers elephant rides. Worth the extra cost in every way, especially for the elephants.

There is nothing more magical than taking a jungle stroll with two happy, smiling and flirty elephants. Thank you Manadlao for making it possible for all creatures — large and small.

It is not just an activity to have on your list while passing by - it’s life changing for the gentle giants. It is truly beyond words what a wonderful experience it has been for me ❤️. I bow my head to all the people involved ????????????

Super experience avec Tan! Tout etait parfait, ils respectent vraiment les animaux au contraire des autres business. Le master elephant nous apprend beaucoup sur l'animal au debut de l'expérience! Parfait du debut a la fin (où on a perdu à la pétanque aha). Je recommande vivement!

Thank you for an incredible day that we’ll remember forever! Mandalao is doing such good work saving poor elephants from horrible conditions. They treat them with so much respect and love and you can see every single member of staff is in line with this ethos. We were going to visit the larger (very famous) sanctuary in Chiangmai but didn’t get a chance so decided to come here instead while we were in Laos and I’m so so glad we did!

We did the afternoon tour which I was initially upset about missing out on a morning one (book in advance people!) but it ended up being so incredible. We were given tonnes of information from our guide Tan on the drive over both about elephants and general insight into life in Laos which we loved to hear. Then we sat down for a coffee/tea and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings (honestly stunning!) then made some treats for the elephants and were able to feed them and trek with them a decent amount as well. Tan told us all about the different elephants and their past terrible experiences and what their lives are now like, how they reintroduce younger elephants in the wild where they belong and a lot about elephant behaviour. After a good amount of time spent with the elephants we then had some snacks ourselves and marvelled at the day we’d had.

I can’t stress enough how amazing it was and worth every penny! Don’t even think of going for another elephant experience where elephants are ridden as it’s very cruel. You get close up enough with them here and are being kind to them.

One of the best activities I’ve done in Laos. This is sustainable tourism done right, hats off to the team. It was the perfect mix of informative and fun. The guides are very knowledgeable and seem to truly enjoy what they’re doing. The elephants look very happy and how could they not ☺️ this is a little slice of heaven they’re living on. The full day hike in the jungle was great. It’s a bit on the expensive side as far as Laos activities go, but I didn’t mind that, since the money is going towards a good cause. Keep up the great work!????

A fantastic day with the elephants. Great guides, lots of close up access to elephants and no riding! They are committed to the conservation of this beautiful creature and it vale across during the day.

Amazing experience-- highly recommend

Thank you for the great day at your facility! ????????

MandaLao strives to make the lives of elephants better which have so far been used as working/riding animals and treated horribly. You can still see the scars from riding or when the back of the legs were slapped. They also plan a reintroduction program in the future as Laos only has around 700 elephants left (half in captivity).

The experience starts with a little history about elephants and the project, which is employing almost 50 people and supports 100 families that are growing plants for the (currently) 11 animals- each eating 6% of their bodyweight daily! Half of your ticket price will go to feeding the grey giants.

Then you cross the river on a boat and start with giving the animals a little snack, before you walk through the surrounding forest. The half day tour will turn around after some km, while the full day tour continues to a little campsite. You will also have the opportunity to see and bathe at a waterfall- beautiful and a definite recommendation.

Ask all the questions you have and they will be answered. The mahouts and guide are full of respect for the elephants and are passionate about their work.

MandaLao ist absolut zu empfehlen:

- Misshandelte Elefanten werden aus ihren prekären Umgebungen herausgekauft.
- Die Tiere werden liebevoll in einer natürlichen Umgebung an ein normales Leben gewöhnt.
- Mit viel Liebe und Engagement wird den Elefanten begegnet.
- Es werden nur kleine Gruppen angeboten, da zu viele Menschen für die Elefanten unangenehm sind.
- Man setzt sich aktiv gegen das Reiten und Schlagen der Elefanten ein.
- MandaLao ist ein Vorreiter im Land in Bezug auf den Umgang mit Elefanten.
- Es wird viel Wert auf Aufklärung und Weiterentwicklung gelegt.

Glücklicherweise konnten wir im Geschäft noch eine Tagestour buchen, obwohl online alle Touren bereits ausgebucht waren.

Ein herzliches Dankeschön an unseren großartigen Guide Lan, der uns mit sehr vielen Geschichten das Leben der Elefanten und Laoten näher gebracht hat.

The full day was definitely one of my best days in my life! I got picked up in the morning, got many information about the elephant and then we started to walk with the elephants. I had lunch like a picnic which was delicious. After a little break at the waterfall we walked again. I came back in town at 5. I was the only person at this day, so I had a guide and two elephants all by myself, the guide made beautiful pictures of me and the elephants. 100% recommendation to do the full day!

If you're thinking about having an elephant experience, consider whether you're prioritizing the experience like bathing with elephants, riding elephants or the experience of visiting a place where elephants are happy.

We definitely recommend visiting this place. You will meet people for whom caring for elephants has become a life mission. Thank you Mr. Noy for a wonderful and intense experience. 11 out of 10 elephants recommend :).

We really enjoyed our day with the elephants. We came as a large family of 9 with 7 going on the half day trek and 2 continuing on for the full day. They accompanied us wonderfully.

The meals were great. 2 different meals for the full day trek and a great vegetarian selection for the vegetarians of the group. We all left very full. The elephants also seemed to enjoy the bananas and ears of corn we fed them.

The treks with the elephants was very relaxed and a nice easy pace. Plenty of time for photos with the elephants. The guide and handlers were very gentle and patient with the elephants. If the elephants hesitated in crossing a stream for a drink it just meant more time for photos.

We were able to pass by the beautiful and isolated Tad Kuang Song waterfall along the way with the full trek. Just another bonus of the journey.

We all recommend the Mandelao elephant treks.

Fantastic experience with the rescue elephants. Walking with them was something to behold

Real animal rescue place. Love the guides. Love feeding the elephants. The waterfalls tour was the cherry on top. One of the main highlights of my Laos travel.

absolutely great! Great guide who gives very valuable information in very good English. Very impressive facility, with super friendly staff. Can highly recommend this excursion.

Que lugar magnifico. Passamos uma tarde deslumbrante com nosso guia Kim que nos explicou tudo sobre a história dos elefantes e como o mandalao tem como princípio fundamental a felicidade e protecao dos animais, retirando eles do trabalho forçado e os tornando o mais livres que podem. Não promovem andar no elefante, nem banho, nem truques como deve ser feito. Se você está em busca de um verdadeiro Santuário de proteção aos elefantes, não precisa mais procurar.

Experiencia inolvidable con los elefantes desde un turismo sostenible. Lo principal es el bienestar del elefante de ahí los grupos reducidos. Hicimos el tour de medio día y paseamos con ellos. La introducción es excesiva ya que tienes que escuchar a un señor hablando 1 hora con un muñequito de elefante ( un poco ridículo, ya que no disponía de soporte audiovisual ni subtítulos para los que no tenemos buen dominio del inglés ). La comida es justita. Los guías son excelentes . Gracias por este tipos de tours y cuidar de los elefantes y no convertirlos en un circo turístico.

Experiencia increíble y única !!

Hicimos el tour de una mañana y ha sido genial, claramente se ve el cuidado que tienen con los elefantes. Un sitio donde se percibe respeto a los animales. De todos los que vimos era muy importante para nosotras que no te hicieran subir ni les obligaran a hacer cosas a los elegantes. Aquí dan su paseo diario con ellos y nos puedes ver en su verdadero entorno. Fue un momento de conexión super enriquecedor.

Puntos negativos: la introducción es muy pesada, una hora sentados y hablando y no me parecía información muy interesante. La comida era un poco justa para lo que es la experiencia.

Really great experience. I was a little bummed at first to only be able to do the afternoon feeding and 1km hike. I love hiking and the longer morning jaunt sounded more my style, but I really wanted to see elephants! The afternoon Communicating with Elephants session was awesome for a few reasons. There were only 3 of us total, so it felt more personal and we were able to ask a lot of questions with our guide Yang.

We got to talk to an elephant trainer for a good while, learning about their current studies of elephant diet and their ambitious plans for releasing elephants back into a nearby preserve. Then we made nutrient rich treats for the elephants (banana, rice, salt, tamarind, and a probiotic).

You take a brief boat ride across the Nam Khan which is fun and provides nice views. Feeding the two elephants was good fun and they seemed to enjoy it as well (based on body language we learned at another sanctuary).

After eating, the elephants went down to the river to spray themselves with water and one even covered itself in fresh mud. You're not allowed to get close or "help" them bathe, which is a good thing. This was really fun to watch and they just let the elephants do their thang until they're ready to move on.

The last part involved walking through the jungle and following the elephants as they scavenged. They love fresh bamboo shoots in particular, and finding a good tree to rub up against. This part was cool because it felt the most free form. I also appreciate the shorter walk through the jungle versus the morning tour, because there are quite a few mosquitos and not much of a breeze in the trees! I can imagine getting bitten more on the longer morning hike that is twice as long.

Each elephant has a mahout, who stays close by but does not use a stick or even verbalize commands most of the time. The only time I heard them tut commands frequently was right before we parted ways with the elephants, to take a photo. I'm not sure what they were saying but it seemed like maybe a command to stay in place. The elephants still played with each other while we quickly did this.

I will definitely come back when I visit in the future.