This Elephant Riding attraction is located where the royal elephant corral was in the Ayutthaya period, when activities like catching elephants were regarded as festive events for the royal family. Elephants were an important part of the kingdom, for warfare as for agriculture.
Of course, now it’s a business targeting tourists, but the different times I went to Ayuttayah, I always felt the elephants were well treated in this place. There are a lot of elephants in this riding center, each with his own mahout (keeper), including really impressive large ones, and they are decorated like in the kingdom era. I think it’s an important part of ancient Thai culture here in Ayuttayah to see elephants as there used to be much more elephants in Thailand before, particularly at this time when Ayuttayah was a city and the capital. It is said that the Ayuttayah kingdom had more than 50,000 elephants in captivity. The number of elephants is sadly going down in Thailand among domestic as wild populations. Keeping an elephant today costs a fortune in food daily.
Rides are 500 THB, it’s also possible to feed the elephants with fruits.
