The Best Destinations To Spot Elephants Up Close With Culture Trip

Seeing the largest land mammals on Earth in the flesh is an experience you’ll cherish forever. Experience the majestic beauty of these gentle giants up close with these unforgettable elephant encounters, courtesy of our Culture Trips.

Elephants drinking from the infinity pool at Gondwana Kwena Game Lodge (Western Cape Game Lodge)

Gondwana Game Reserve – Splendid South Africa

The concept of a safari alone is thrilling, but things are done differently on Gondwana Game Reserve, a vast Western Cape wilderness where we’ll spend two nights at a luxury lodge on our 11-day Garden Route tour of South Africa. The lodge has multiple outdoor dining venues, a bush spa, picnics, mountain bikes and guided walks, as well as a truly stunning infinity pool looking out over the wilderness. It’s not uncommon for this infinity pool to get visits from local elephant herds, so if you chill at the pool long enough, the encounter might come to you. If that doesn’t happen, fear not, you’ll get to embark on up to four expert safari drives during our stay, across which you should be able to spot every member of the Big Five – the lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, African buffalo and, of course, the African bush elephant.

From US$2899

Next available from 3rd Feb 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Cape Town, South Africa

ENDS AT

Cape Town, South Africa

DURATION

11

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

View Trip

Elephant spotted on a safari in Sri Lanka

Udawalawe National Park – Secrets of Sri Lanka by Train

Nothing matches seeing an animal in its natural habitat, totally wild and free to roam its land as it pleases. That’s the beauty of elephant-spotting in Sri Lanka, which has multiple protected national parks that they call home. On our 10-day Rail Trip around the island you’ll witness ancient temples, surreal rock fortresses and one of the most scenic train rides on the planet, but nothing will match the majesty of the moment you spot a trunk curling round from behind a branch. On day eight we’ll go to Udawalawe National Park, the best place in the country to spot them, with over 600 elephants calling this place home, usually in herds of up to 30. You’ll embark on an expert jeep safari in search of a herd or two, before following that up with a visit to Elephant Transit Home, a sanctuary that rehabilitates and releases orphaned or abandoned babies back into the wild.

From US$1679

Next available from 9th Mar 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Colombo, Sri Lanka

ENDS AT

Colombo, Sri Lanka

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

12

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

View Trip

African Elephant Coming To The Safari Vehicle

Maasai Mara – Immersive Kenya

Along with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, Kenya is home to one of the world’s largest elephant populations, estimated at around 36,000. It’s also generally one of the best places you could choose to go on a safari, as our eight-day trip along the Great Rift Valley proves. After visiting a giraffe centre in Nairobi and spotting exotic birds in Aberdare National Park, you’ll be whisked down to Lake Nakuru, where thousands of pink flamingo wade, occasionally joined by black rhino and leopards. Our final destination is real wildlife-spotting heaven, though, as we reach the famous Maasai Mara, an extension of the Serengeti. You’ll be staying in a campsite right in the heart of the savannah, so you can spot zebra trotting by the campfire, but you’ll also spend a day on safari in search of the Big Five. Elephants are one of the most commonly spotted members of the five during Mara safaris, so expect to see them travelling in families of up to 10, or even a whole clan of up to 70!

From US$2959

Next available from 11th Apr 2024

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Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Nairobi, Kenya

ENDS AT

Nairobi, Kenya

DURATION

8

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Light

STYLE

Discovery

View Trip

Herd of bathing elephants in the river of jungle

Elephant Nature Park – Tropical Northern Thailand

There are only a few thousand wild elephants in Thailand, and only a few thousand more within the domestic population, while the country has also had a tricky history of exploitative tourism practices – which Culture Trip is extremely aware of and cautious about – but there are great institutions in this country that are doing amazing work to protect the elephant population and hopefully allow them to thrive. The last full-day of our 10-day exploration of the jungles, waterfalls and hot springs of Northern Thailand begins with an early start, as we summit Doi Inthanon – Thailand’s largest peak – at sunrise. Remarkably, the serenity of that moment might not even be your highlight of the day, since we follow that up – after a hearty Thai breakfast – with a visit to Elephant Nature Park. This ethical rescue centre is all about providing former working elephants with a safe, healthy space to live out their golden years. You’ll have the chance to walk with, feed and bathe them, which offers an incredible insight into the mind-blowing intelligence and endearing playfulness of these truly extraordinary creatures.

From US$1339

Next available from 20th Jan 2024

Secure your spot with a low deposit

Trip highlights and details

STARTS AT

Chiang Mai, Thailand

ENDS AT

Chiang Mai, Thailand

DURATION

10

GROUP SIZE

16

PHYSICAL RATING

Moderate

STYLE

Discovery

View Trip

landscape with balloons floating in the air

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