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My love for elephants had only increased after playing with the baby elephants at the Elephant Breeding Centre in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. When I was told that I could go and watch the elephants going for their bath in the river, I jumped at the chance.
Elephants having a bath
When we arrived at the river, there were a handful of other tourists there watching the half a dozen elephants in the water. They had their mahouts with them, who were taking them out into the water for a dip, while others lay on their sides closer to the bank, where they were being washed and scrubbed down. I was amazed at how calm and happy the elephants seemed, and the looks on their faces as they got scrubbed down seemed to be of pure pleasure.
Watching the elephants having their bath
The bank of the river where the elephants enter was a nice sandy beach, and I noticed a few tourists down there helping to wash the elephants. It was something that I definitely wanted to be a part of, and after asking one of the mahouts if I could come down to participate, he offered to let me ride on the elephant with him into the water!
Bathing with elephants
Before I knew it, I was being helped onto the back of the elephant, where I rode her bareback into the river. I couldn’t quite believe that I was actually on one of these magnificent creatures, touching her leathery skin and the coarse hair on her head.
Riding my elephant into the river
She slowly wandered into the river, and as I sat there marvelling at her, she sucked up a trunk full of water and spurted it up all over me!
The elephant spurting water at me
The Mahout joined me on the elephant and started talking to her, and before I knew it, she shook her large body and we both went flying off into the water. With his help, I climbed back onto her back where she continued to spurt water up and throw us off. I could tell that she was thoroughly enjoying herself in the river, and I have to say it was a whole lot of fun!
Sitting on the elephant, drenched after being thrown into the river
After being thrown off a few more times, I suddenly remembered about the crocodiles that I had seen in the river earlier in the day and thought that it was probably a good time to get out.
Once I had shaken myself off, I tipped the mahout, which I handed to the elephant, who then passed it on to him.
Bathing with elephants in Chitwan National Park was one of the highlights of my trip to Nepal, and I think it’s a much better way to interact with these amazing creatures than by going on a trek. An elephant having a bath is a happy elephant.
This must have been such an incredible experience! I’ve always been very fond of elephants! I heard that down in Kerala they have a reserve for elephants too, didn’t know there ws one in Nepal.
Hi Anji, it was a great experience. It’s important that these places exist, to save these incredible animals.
Dean Wickham recently posted..Bathing With Elephants in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
So Awesome! I can’t wait to show my kids.
I’m going to do some exploring around your older posts in this area of the world. It looks great!
Justin recently posted..How Doing What You Love Can Change The World
Hi Justin, Nepal is a very beautiful and diverse country. From the high snow capped peaks of the Himilayas, to the streets of Kathmandu to the jungles of the Terrai, there is so much to see and do, and the people are just lovely. I can’t say enough good things about it, and I highly recommend travelling there :). Cheers
Dean Wickham recently posted..Bathing With Elephants in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Wow! This is unreal. It is so cool to see the elephants having fun with humans. I want to go to Nepal even more now!!
Heidi recently posted..How The Pros Store And Manage Their Travel Photos
Hey Heidi, I was fascinated to see how much fun they were having. I couldn’t get the smile off of my face! 🙂 Cheers
Dean Wickham recently posted..Bathing With Elephants in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
What an incredible experience! It would have been lovely to interact with the elephants like that. I think I would’ve been nervous about the crocodiles too though.
Cherina | Quiet Wanderings recently posted..There’s Something About Melbourne
Hi Cherina, it was a great experience. I’m pretty sure the crocodiles would stay away from the huge elephants splashing around, but the thought certainly keeps you on edge 😉
Dean Wickham recently posted..Bathing With Elephants in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Wow! What an experience! Good thing there were no crocs that day though!
Jade – OurOyster.com recently posted..5 Reasons To Discover Laos
Hi Jade, I actually did see some crocodiles in the river earlier on. I was just so fascinated with the elephants that I completely forgot about them! 🙂
Dean Wickham recently posted..Photo of the week: Locals load a boat on the Mekong River, Laos
[…] and I had an incredible experience playing with a baby elephant at the breeding centre, and then bathing with the elephants in a river at Chitwan National […]
Looks like you have had a great time there! Have you been to Elephant Breeding Center there?
[…] Mai in Northern Thailand is the place that we chose to do an elephant trek. I had been elephant trekking before in Nepal, but my wife had never even touched an elephant so we booked a typical day tour that included an […]
[…] The first thing that I noticed when I began walking into the centre were elephants being exercised by their mahouts. This was a positive first site, as I was afraid of seeing them chained up in a tiny enclosure. The mahouts were riding on the elephant’s heads, and moving off in different directions into the park, apparently going for their morning exercise. Our guide told us that this happens twice a day and includes different activities and swims in the river. […]