Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue centre for elephants in Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Chiang Mai city, co-founded by Sangduen "Lek" Chailert.
The parks provide sanctuary for rescued elephants and operate under a business model in which tourists pay to visit and help care for the animals, and they can stay for extended periods.
[6] By 1998, an organization called Green Tours, run by Adam Flinn, had founded Elephant Nature Park, a tourist site and reserve for rescued elephants in a valley about an hour north of Chiang Mai city,[6] together with Chailert, who owned some of the land and leased the rest from the Thai government.
[4] Chailert maintained a more isolated section on one of the surrounding mountains for especially damaged animals that she called "Elephant Heaven".
[9] Chailert was listed in a special 2005 post-tsunami issue of the Asian edition of Time magazine as one of "Asia's heroes".
[7] By this time, the park no longer offered performances and had shifted to a business model in which visitors could come help care for the elephants.
[15] Chailert has also been successful in convincing several independent camps to improve the lives of elephants and forbid tourists from riding them, through her Saddle Off!