Our team - Chiangmai Elephant Land

We have a very experienced group of guides to give you the best possible experience. Our team has worked for many years with elephants, the local Karen hill tribe communities as well as trekking in the jungles and mountains surrounding Chiangmai in Northern Thailand. Our guides take great pride in providing our guests with the best elephant experience. They are all certified by the Tourist Authority of Thailand and speak English. Each elephant is accompanied and cared for by a dedicated mahout.

Guide Toto

Toto is a cheerful man who wants to make you happy. He is very kind and has a natural way with elephants. “I was born in a small Lisu village in the beautiful Chiang Dao Forest and, for about 30 years, I have regularly taken small groups back to my traditional Hill Tribe home to experience the true jungle life. Here, we stay in real tribal huts, with real tribal people, eating real tribal food cooked using the traditional methods I fondly remember as a village child”.

Guide Super Boy

“After military service in the jungle of the Thailand/Myanmar borders, I worked for a large survey/mapping company before joining Elephant Land as a driver and training as a guide”. Super Boy’s happy spirit is infectious and you will laugh all day. Spending the day with Super Boy will give you a memorable experience with our elephants!

Guide San

As a child, San always loved to welcome the tourists who frequently visited his Karen village. Now he represents a new young generation of Karen who have recently completed their university education to become specialist guides. San is very polite and always full of energy. His local village is in the Maetang area where he has a lot of experience leading visitors on jungle treks and bamboo rafting.

Mahout Tose
Like many Mahouts in Thailand, Tose’s family has shared a long association with elephants. Tose moved to our sanctuary in 2018 with Mashaw, our matriarch, from the Myanmar/Thailand border region. He lives at our camp and cares for Mashaw 24 h a day. You will see Tose calmly directing Mashaw on your visit while smoking his pipe. Although he cannot speak English (or Thai), please say Hi (or abuja) to him, he will appreciate it!

Mahout Aof (pronounced Off)
Aof is a young mahout who cares for Kapa and her baby. Aof also lives at the camp and their move to our sanctuary in 2022 has given him the opportunity to be closer to his family