"Elephant Village Luang Prabang"

 

Elephant camp and project

better life for Elephants
in Luang Prabang, Laos

 

Elephant Village
ensures the support of indigenous & disadvantaged people in an remote area of Luang Prabang by giving them employment through the creation of more than 40 jobs under fair social circumstances!

Elephant Village
ensures the support of the survival of so far 9 elephants living now in harmony with nature and community, kept away from abusive work and cared by professional vets.

Elephant village
ensures the preservation of a virgin river valley that otherwise would be destroyed by receiving a 20 year leasing agreement from the Lao government to establish a sustainable tourism project..

 

The Elephant Village
(formerly Elephant XL) is located about 15 km out of Luang Prabang on the bank of Nam Khan River. It is an incredible place in the jungle, situated in the middle of misty mountains nearby the river. It is the first and only place like that in Laos offering interaction with elephants and a great and rewarding activity selection... (for example we offer: Elephant riding, Elephant Mahout courses, Elephant safari, Bungalows and accommodation, pure nature activities, waterfall tours, minority villages and trekking routes as well as river kayaking activities...)

 

XL means "Xieng Lom" which is the name of the nearby village which the project also supports! Also XL means "very big" which refers to our work with the Asian Elephant. We decided to establish our Elephant Park Project and Elephant Camp XL close to this village for some specific reasons:

 

 

The unspoiled and unique location offers an amazing panorama view to a breathtaking 1,600 meter high mountain chain and to a 600 meter high towering rock face...which you can see from the Elephant village overlooking the Nam Khan river.

 

The countryside in front of the camp is unspoiled and covered by forests, plantations and rice fields...

 

 

The place is perfect for the elephants, as they are in the wildness and faraway from the civilisation because the Elephant Camp is only accessible by boat and has no road access.

On the Elephant Village area, you will find the mahout's house and a tower to help you to climb on the elephant's back! Here we keep the Elephants during the day. They have access to water on every tour they do and can collect their food in the nearby mountains at night time. Also we give our Elephants additional nutritious food which supports the neighboring villagers!

 

From the Elephant Village,
Tiger Trail Outdoor Adventures starts its daily tours and activities, such as Elephant ridding, e.g. Half Day Elephant Riding, or the famous Mahout experience & Training courses.

 

Tiger Trail also uses the Elephant Village location for exploration tours into the nearby mountain areas. Tiger Trail starts trekking, kayaking and multi-day activity tours from this wonderful place.

 

 

The wonderful “Tad Sae Waterfall” can be reached by local boat in 15 minutes from the Elephant Village or even by elephant ride. Another option to reach the waterfall is on mountain bikes or by short hiking tour.

 

 

 

click to enlarge the image - activities available from the Elephant Camp XL

 

 

 

The History of Elephant Village

Elephant Village founder Mr.Markus PESCHKE first dreamed of establishing an elephant camp amid the jungle, cliffs and waterfalls of Xieng Lom village on an exploratory trip down the Nam Khan River in 2001. Behind the Elephant Village, Mr. Markus came on across temple ruins. He discovered that these bricks were once part of a settlement known as Baan Xang (Elephant Village). According to local sources, this village was established in the 1890’s for the capture, training and care of royal services elephants of Luang Prabang the capital of Lane Xang Kingdom.

 

The Elephant Village was founded in October of 2003. After intense preparations that included the mapping and cutting of a special elephant trail to the hidden Thad Sae Waterfalls. Starting such a project was possible only because its founder had a long history in the local tourism industry, with his “Indochina Spirit” restaurant in the center of Luang Prabang as the base of operations. The trekking, rafting and hiking tours were well received, so there was a good chance to attract customers for elephant riding as well. The tour company, Tiger Trail was founded by him and is nowadays one of the pioneers in local community-based and alternative tourism in Luang Prabang.

 

The Elephant Village "Care & Share" philosophy

Elephant Village’s mission is to provide a peaceful home and sustainable future to elephants in LAOS. Tourism activities contribute the elephants with the opportunity for support, food, health care! This cooperation between men and animals provides them wih what they need on a daily bases and also helps to support the neighboring local villages.

Elephant Village is managed in a sustainable and fair manner that actively benefits both elephants and local villages! Most of the camp staff come from village nearby. The elephant food supply by purchased from villager around the camp.

 

At Elephant Village everyone’s safety comes first. Not only human but also elephant. Mahout and elephants are trained for tourism activities.

 

XL Camp today Elephant Village also means :

It is known that the royal family was using the areas already with their Elephants in former Lao Kingdoms.

Until the 1990s, villagers reported, tigers and wild elephants lived in this area close to the mountains near the Elephant project and Elephant Camp.

It is definitely the most beautiful place in the Luang Prabang surrounding and in pure nature, far enough from Luang Prabang to feel the spirit of Laos