Elephants have been a part of Thai culture for hundreds of years. They were used in warfare, they were used as beasts of burden to help with farming and construction. Now they have found a new niche, as part of the tourist industry of Thailand.

Elephant Trekking is one of the very few completely Thai vacation activities which are suitable for the entire family.

Don’t be fooled by the word “trekking”, which conjures up images of cutting your way through the jungle with a machete, as the mosquitos make a meal of you. Elephant trekking is a much more leisurely experience. Indeed, it is hardly trekking at all, it’s simply a ride through the jungle on the back of an elephant.

Actually riding the elephant is very easy, as you sit in a large wooden saddle, which is lashed to the back of the elephant, it is almost impossible to fall off! Once you are comfortably seated the elephant handler will lead your elephant on a short jaunt through the jungle. This usually takes 30 minutes to an hour.

Something that most tourists probably do not realize is that the elephant trekking companies are something similar to a charity. Over the last few decades elephants have become less and less useful, and have been replaced by modern machinery. Unfortunately, there are still thousands of breeding elephants in Thailand, and the numbers are not going down. The Thai government subsidizes the small local communities who care for the elephants, and it is these local people who operate the elephant trekking businesses.

There are elephant trekking operations in most areas of Phuket, certainly in or close by to the most popular places such as Patong. If you are only visiting Thailand once, then you simply must take a ride on an elephant, you will never get a chance to do it again!