MandaLao Elephant Conservation

Had an amazing experience with our guide Aeung & our tour elephants Neung & Bou Khan. It is very evident that they are well cared for and loved at MandaLao. We learned so much about the elephants & the work they do there from Aeung. This is an amazing family experience that everyone will remember. Being with them freely in the jungle & seeing and interacting with them in their natural environment was so special. Aeung made sure we had lots of photos and videos to remember our day. The shop & donations also support the elephants which made me want to buy everything of course. I highly recommend this tour to everyone to help support the good work they are doing for these beautiful & amazing animals 🩷

It’s just a wonderful experience. In the forest with elephants just watching them eat and go about some of their daily routines. The elephants are rescued from working in logging or being forced to carry around tourists on their backs. Our guide Aeung was very knowledgeable and helpful in making it a fun learning experience for us. I highly recommend and encourage people to go as some of the proceeds are needed to feed and care for the elephants and to buy other working elephants out of slavery.

What a wonderful initiative to rescue elephants from slavery in the tourist riding industry and similar practices. We had an unforgettable experience walking alongside two elephants, observing them in their natural environment, and listening to the stories shared by our knowledgeable Laotian guide. This was one of the absolute highlights of our time in Laos. Truly inspiring and highly recommended, especially knowing that the money from this tour goes directly toward saving more elephants and providing meaningful jobs for local caretakers.

I discovered Mandalao through a Facebook page called Two Fat Expats and decided to stop by their office to try a half-day trek. Signing up was efficient! I joined the 9:15 AM tour, and the driver picked me up on time from my hotel along with two other guests. We went on a trek with the elephants—they started eating tree bark and pushed down a teak tree! What a spectacle. We were advised to keep a safe distance of about 5 meters while walking with them. Our guides Yeng and Dao were knowledgeable and funny. I also bought an elephant poop poster for $15 as a souvenir—quirky but fun! Mandalao promotes a no-riding, no-bathing policy for elephants, which I really appreciated. The experience ended with a delicious lunch before heading back to the city. Highly recommended for anyone who loves these majestic creatures!

This was an absolute highlight of our 4 weeks in south-east Asia and a beautiful and moving experience. Everything about it was well organised and enjoyable - from the initial (heartfelt and sincere) talk about elephant welfare through the trip across the river, feeding the elephants, walking with them through the forest and right to the gorgeous meal at the end. If you are thinking about it and unsure - do it, you won't regret it. Other trips are available but it's worth paying more for this because of their ethical stance and the close attention they pay to the welfare of these beautiful creatures.

Over the last two years, I have visited on my own, with friends and with three groups of English-language learners from Big Brother Mouse. Each time I visit, I learn more. For the three (so far) group visits I have led, the learners were eager to be educated and Mr Prassop provides a wonderful, appropriate and targeted 'lesson' on the importance of looking after, and nit exploiting elephants. On meeting the elephants up close, my groups were won over by the concept of nurturing and respecting the elephants. It is clear that everyone involved in Mandalao starting with first contact in the booking office in the main street, to the drivers, the guides, the reception staff, the kitchen staff, of course Mr Prassop, the boat drivers and the cahoots cares deeply about elephant welfare. For me, a visit to MandaLao is an essential part of visiting Luang Prabang.

MandaLao Elephant Conservation is an absolute must-do for anyone visiting Luang Prabang who loves elephants. This is a sanctuary that truly sets the standard for ethical animal tourism. The most important thing to know is their strict "no-riding" and "no-bathing" policy. Instead of activities designed for human entertainment, the entire focus is on the respect and well-being of the elephants. The main experience is the "Therapeutic Trek," where you get to walk with these gentle giants through the beautiful, dense jungle. You can feed them, observe them foraging and behaving naturally, and learn about the individual stories of the rescued elephants (most saved from the logging industry or tourist riding camps). The groups are kept intentionally very small (around 6-8 people), which makes the experience feel intimate and personal, and ensures the elephants are not stressed. The mahouts clearly have a deep, positive bond with the elephants, using only voice commands, not hooks. It is a deeply moving, humbling, and magical experience. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to support true elephant conservation and create an unforgettable memory.

Must visit in Luan Prabang! An awesome project that supports local elephants and aims to save this species as being endangered by farming and pollution. We had a great guide and two Mahouts that treated the animals very well. We fed them and then walked around the jungle. Also this experience includes lunch which I really enjoyed . Thanks