Elephant Sanctuary: Hidden Forest Reserve in Phuket

Experience the Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve in Phuket. Meet and feed rescued elephants, take a scenic walk through the forest, and enjoy a vegetarian meal by the pond.

Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve - On arrival enjoy complimentary refreshments before we watch an informative introduction video. We then meet and feed our elephants before going on a scenic walk through the forest observing and learning about their history, their stories, and their unique personalities. We don’t follow a set route, our elephants…
What's Included
  • Educational introduction video
  • Hotel Pick up & Drop Off
  • Vegetarian Meal
  • Transportation by air-conditioned van
  • Entrance Ticket
  • Refill Water
  • English Speaking Tour Guide
What's Not Included
  • Tipping
  • Bathing with elephants
  • Refill Bottle water
Additional Information

Welcome to Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve. Our breathtaking elephant sanctuary is nestled in the hills of southern Phuket and is home to four beautiful elephants who are all rescued from the tourism riding industry. They are now able to roam freely, socialise with each other, and play naturally in the ponds, streams and muddy wallows throughout our…

Location
Hidden Forest Elephant Reserve
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(87 Ratings)
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R4204awmarks
Apr 29, 2025
Visit to hidden forest elephant sanctuary - Went on this today and it was fantastic , tour guides very informative and we saw all 7 elephants close up and fed them and followed them up hill and eventually saw 6 of them in water - so close and real it was great And no washing or riding of them!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lindsaytully
Apr 21, 2025
Ethical, a brilliant visit! Amazing!!! - We had the most amazing morning! This is 100% ethical which is why we booked it. Louise who runs it with her two friends are amazing and are the kindest people we have ever met, dedicating their lives to this. Louise is so interesting and her knowledge is incredible. We could have chatted to her all day! This is strictly no bathing or touching. We could feed them, which was lovely! The six Elephants are now living their best lives! It was quite overwhelming. They are free to roam and each has a “keeper” Louise and her team are passionate to educate people about the not so good elephant trades. We walked around the grounds, lunch was provided at the top of the hill. It was delicious! This trip is a must. It was brilliant
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dom_b
Apr 20, 2025
Hidden Hills Elephant Reserve - What an amazing experience this is. To see the Elephants so well cared for and the tour guides having so much knowledge just made for a fantastic morning! We couldn’t recommend this highly enough!
Review provided by Viator
Natalie
Apr 19, 2025
Truly ethical, fantastic staff, happy elephants - Truly ethical! We spent a long time researching sanctuaries in the area and almost completely gave up because everywhere seemed to offer bathing with elephants at the very least (which didn’t seem right to us even before knowing about the stress this causes the elephants). Then we came across Hidden Forest and I’m so so glad we chose to support them. A small retirement sanctuary for elephants rescued from the logging and entertainment industries, and where the animals welfare is paramount. No touching of the elephants is allowed at all, they can take bananas from your hand if they choose to during feeding, but there is no other direct contact. Visitors then watch the animals eating and bathing from observation stations. The elephants are never chained and can roam freely around the site. If you want to see Asian elephants but don’t want to contribute to unethical tourism practices, this is the way to do it! Thank you Hidden Forest for everything you do for these magnificent creatures. We had a wonderful morning.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure815527
Apr 17, 2025
A Compassionate Haven for These Gentle Giants - We had a great morning today at the Hidden Forest elephant sanctuary! We did our research to seek out a completely ethical sanctuary, and were pleased this led us here: It’s a true haven for elephants who have endured difficult pasts, offering them the peace, space, and compassion they so deeply deserve. The owners are nothing short of inspirational; their dedication to the wellbeing of each elephant is evident in every interaction and every aspect of the sanctuary. The sanctuary prioritises the elephants’ needs above all else. It’s a calm, natural environment where the elephants are free to roam, socialise, and simply be themselves. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a meaningful, ethical wildlife experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
229joeb
Apr 9, 2025
Great half day trip for the family - Really well run. Tour was at a really relaxed pace, and the vegetarian lunch was excellent. The kids really enjoyed sitting back and eating lunch while watching the elephants swim.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V1003enmichaelm
Apr 8, 2025
Great experience - Excellent experience, we went with 2 families and we learnt an awful lot about elephants! It was amazing to see them in a natural setting just mucking around with us just appreciating the moment. We would fully recommend this and the t shirts look great as well.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patricia
Apr 4, 2025
Incredible experience! - We wanted to visit a place where we could see elephants without exposing them to unnatural tourist activities. And this was really absolutely the right place to visit. Here the elephants can wander freely so you can watch them from a distance, but they can still get very close. You are allowed the works to pat them or bathe with them, which is absolutely right! The guides tell you about each elephant’s history and what they have experienced before. They answer questions and are very social and chatty. You are served a good lunch buffet as the end station and here you can sit and watch while you eat the elephants bathing or while they just hang out. They can do what they want!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Coraline_d
Apr 21, 2025
Very informative and... - Very informative and friendly staff! I did my research hoping to have found an ethical rescue versus the tourist attractions that don’t necessary care for the elephants so much. This organization definitely seems to care and allow them to be elephants after having been rescued.
Review provided by Viator
Ranee_k
Apr 24, 2025
Bad service! - I was really excited about this experience and seen as we didn’t even arrive at Port till 8 AM. It was nice to find an activity that I was sure I could make it off the ship for. I was notified the day before that the pick up time would be at 8 AM which I could not make and would not have booked. Had I known that I was unable to see this as you can’t use your phone while on the ship and have to be away from the ship, so when I turned my phone on when I got to the port, they told me that the pick up time was 8 o’clock not 930 so I was unable to go . I was there on time for a 930 pick up now. They are refusing to refund me for this trip that I didn’t get to take be careful with this tour. Shame on them. I will be disputing this with my credit card company.
Review provided by Viator
From $99
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).