My Elephant Trip - Jaipur

We arrived in the village through our TukTuk Atan driver, I told him that I wanted to meet the elephants, but my priority was to go somewhere where they were treated well. Relying on what they've been told us, Nena and Mataji have been rescued from circuses, and the money that we paid to feed them returns in food and things to the elephants. Their diet varied among fruits, sugar cane, breads, plants, etc. They told us that each elephant eats 250 to 300 kilos of food per day. When we arrived they put us up to sit and offered us tea and water until one of the staff came to talk to us. They explain well about elephants and how we should behave with them, where we can or can not touch, tell us how to feed, the gestation of an elephant, etc. For one side is good, but on the other is a long and tiring, enveloped speech. He starts talking about the activities and I had to interrupt him and make it clear that I would only like to feed the elephants and that I did not agree to paint or ride on the elephant, even he claiming that elephants feel ticklish when they paint them, but in my opinion they look more like clowns. The prices I don't think is fix. I think they dicide at the moment they talk with you. Because he right the activists on the note and write the prices. If you do more then one the price have a kind of discount. Anyway, I did not have the opportunity to see the whole space but it seemed to be a good place. Seen by google satellite maps there'snt no lake where they can bathe and cool off from the heat, but there are trees and a roof where elephants stay to have contact with visitors. The people who helped us with the elephants call themselves "volunteers" and in the end they asked for tip for us. Apparently the elephants are treated well, but I did not see the the place like a sanctuary. Elephants are not as free to do as they want. They stop to get in touch with the visitors, maybe that's a bit stressful for them. When it was our turn, we were only directed to have contact with Nena, because Mataji was not in a good mood, I noticed she looked a bit tired. During our conversation while we were seated my boyfriend said he saw Mataji pushing one of the visitors but it was nothing serious. They also explained that male elephants are not put in contact with visitors because they are usually more aggressive. I will not be hypocritical because I really enjoyed having the contact with the elephants. Feeding the elephants was amazing experience, I was very happy about it. Seen from close they are much larger than I imagined. But if I were to do it again I would do it in a sanctuary where they are free, an open field with a lake for them and not where they would have to stay in the same place stopped to interact with the visitors. The place is not bad, but there are many things to improve. Perhaps replacing the activities of painting and riding with others that are better for the animals and improving the place where they live.

We arrived at My Elephant Trip and were greeted warmly with chai tea. The elephant father spent time explaining the mission behind his operation. He has a great love for the elephants and provided us with extensive information about the history of elephants in India. There are many activities to choose from and packages which support the elephants lifestyle. The elephants are very well looked after and cared for. This is somewhere I would definitely return and hope the elephants remember us.

Questionable as to whether this place is as caring to elephants as they claim. I believe some of their elephants give chair rides despite assurance that they didn't. My partner and I had a very enjoyable time stroking and feeding the elephants for half an hour 3500 rupees. I thought good value for money

These guys offer to sit and ride on the elephants. I can not believe these are volunteers. The elephants were trained and had to watch left and right for the camera.( behind the scenes) When the elephant refused to walk further, he was pushing him, so we could ‘walk’ with them. Had a bad feeling after this visit :-( They charge 3000 rps for 30 minutes walk, introduction and feeding(10minutes)

This place is a scam to make a fool out of foreign tourists. I was surprised to see some paying INR 3k and above for "activities". INR 800 is the most one should pay. Oh and if you think they indulge in animal welfare....they don't. The poor Elephants are treated like carp and this place should not be allowed to exist. I think the staff here is just avenging the centuries of loot and subjugation by Europeans by running this place.

Our tuktuk driver for the day brought us here and handed us over to a 'volunteer' who sold us a nice story about how they look after the elephants and how much it costs to feed them. He also explained that first you have an introduction and feeding time to gain the elephant's trust, before having a short ride followed by painting and washing the animals. After being told what the prices were, we managed to haggle down because they were not only extortionate but there was no way we could pay that much. Anyway, we decided to splash out as this would be a once in a lifetime experience. We were taken to see the elephants straight away, and within a couple of minutes we were ushered to climb onto the elephant's back by holding onto it's ears and stepping on its trunk... already I feel like the nice story from the start was just that - just a nice story. The elephant was then made to walk in a circle no further than 10m before we got off and were able to give it some food. We spent some time just admiring the animals close up before they made the elephants pose for photos. The elephant drivers didn't seem to really care about the elephants. One of them was poking a key into its skin, and kept shouting at it to stand still. After promising that card payments were available, they said it wasn't working, so we had to go to an ATM. The manager of the place followed us and took the money. Who knows whether any of it made it to help the animals or not. I left with a feeling of having being scammed and not actually having helped an elephant in the slightest.

Very good place to go, where there is not to much tourists like in the city Center. They are really carrefull with animals and give you all informations about elephants. I really recomand this place to you if you are comming to Jaipur and if you likes animals !

Lovely place. Wonderful people and the elephants appear to be happy. Superb briefing on rival and offered choice of activties interacting with the elephants. A once in a lifetime experience and will never forget it.