WHAT ARE WE? A homestay, campsite, and elephant home in the jungle of Chiang Mai.

HOMESTAY. Escape the city by spending a few days in our serene homestay. We provide a warm bed, home cooked meals, and peaceful surroundings to relax and unwind.

CAMPSITE. Sleep under the stars at one of our campsites. If booking alongside an elephant tour, we can provide a tent, food, and supplies.

ELEPHANT HOME. Spend a half or full day with our elephants in the jungle.

Visiting an elephant sanctuary is often the highlight of a trip to Chiang Mai. We are not like other elephant sanctuaries. At Le Cher, we put the elephants first and allow you to experience them living a free life in the jungle. You will get quality time with the elephants in their environment with their personal caretakers. We will guide you in observing, understanding, and following these incredible creatures through their habitat.

We believe in education, and have learnt over the years that most don’t know the truth about elephant sanctuaries in Thailand or the Karen community. Unfortunately nowadays elephants are seen as a tourist attraction and entertainment, but we want to help show our customers there is another way, a better way to experience elephants. We'll educate you on what they eat and how they live. You will learn about their herding patterns and matriarchy, and the importance of their social bonds. They are incredibly intelligent creatures, and they each have different personalities for you to get to know. And if you're lucky, you'll hear them communicating…they make some incredible sounds. Whether or not you’ve experienced elephants in the past, your experience at Le Cher will be one you never forget.

WHY TRUST US? Our caretakers have many years of experience, and know how to read and communicate with our elephants.

The bond between caretaker and elephant is special and built around mutual respect and understanding.

We, the Karen community, have a long-standing culture and history with elephants and have cared for them for many generations. We are one of the oldest communities to own and care for elephants in Thailand. In the past, Karen elephant caretakers would live in the jungle and follow their elephants as they grazed, sleep in hammocks listening for the bell around the elephants’ necks, and only adjust their route if they were heading towards farm land, as that could cause conflict. We have always wanted our elephants to live a free and natural life.

For us, elephants are part of our family. We respect our elephants and understand the importance of supporting their natural life. We want to find a solution that benefits the elephants and their caretakers for the long term. This is harder these days due to elephant tourism and a rise of sanctuaries that do not have the elephants best interest in mind. This is why we at Le Cher have created the sustainable elephant ecotourism project. We want to show everyone how humans, elephants and nature can co-exist and live in balance together.

Historically, elephants played a big role in helping with agriculture, logging and transportation in the wild. Nowadays, due to availability of labour-saving machinery, convenient roads and general modernisation, the need for elephants has declined. Coupled with the ever expanding residential and agricultural areas, the forest area is rapidly decreasing from this change. We must adapt, as there is now limited space for elephants. They require areas outside of agricultural land. We therefore need to take care of our elephants in areas that won't be damaging to the farmer's crops. And more importantly, we need to ensure that elephants stay in a safe area away from agriculture due to the chemicals and human vehicles.

We are creating a sustainable, ecotourism project that aims to show everyone how humans, elephants and nature can co-exist.

Jack’s original intent was to bring retired elephants from sanctuaries to live the last years of their lives in the jungle. Instead, he was given Kao and Pailin, two young elephants born in a sanctuary. Jack is now teaching them how to find their own food and roam free in the jungle, so they can continue to do so for their entire lives. In the future, the hope is to bring two more elephants to Le Cher and begin building a family.

Taking care of elephants can be expensive! That’s why we need support from tourists. We only allow a few groups of tourists to visit the elephants each week, so as not to overwhelm them with people. With your visit, you would be supporting our goal in building an ethical, sustainable elephant home, and working towards a future in which elephants and humans can live in balance together.

We hope to attract visitors like you, who want to support a more respectful and balanced lifestyle for elephants with their best interest in mind. Help us make a change and create an environment where humans can coexist with elephants and nature. Come join us at Le Cher for an authentic experience with caretakers who truly understand and love their elephants.