Elephants are a very important part of Thailand’s culture and over the centuries have become one of the countries most important animals and a symbol of power and strength. Their admiration can be seen in Thai symbols, buildings, statues and the like. Still today elephants are used in many traditional roles including working in the forest and mountains, used for transportation and are an important tourist drawcard to the country. Today most of the 2600 or so elephants live and in many cases work in elephant camps. One of the more popular elephant parks for tourists at Mae Sa which is outside of Chaing Mai here visitors can see the elephant’s amazing skills and even visit the elephant nursery where the little elephants grow up. Several tour groups also offer elephant trek tours where you can ride elephants through the farmlands and forest of Thailand.
