Visit Kuiburi national park (Prachuap Khiri Khan)

Kuiburi National Park is the best place to see wild elephants in Thailand. Created in 1999, located in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, it covers more than 969 km², providing a natural habitat for a wide variety of fauna and flora. The elephants are the stars of the park, they are than 300 in the park. But you can also see macaques, deer, gaurs, gibbons and bears (rarer). The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex which contains Kaeng Krachan National Park, Kui Buri National Park, Chaloem Phrakiat Thai Prachan National Park and Mae Nam Phachi Wildlife Sanctuary has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 2021. This is a testimony of its richness and its beauty.

The best time to see elephants is in late afternoon around 4pm when the elephants come out to feed or bathe in the rivers. The park rangers are in constant contact with the guide on your 4x4, which allows them to locate elephants and increase your chances of seeing them. That is why tours in 4X4 to go see elephants are only offered in the afternoon..

If you can sometimes come across wild elephants crossing the road in front of the jeep in which you are visiting Kuiburi Park, the places where you see them most often are: the large meadow of Pong Saladai (this is where I have seen them), the Payang Ranger Station and its water point and Phu Yasaï.

It is important to point out that you are not guaranteed to see elephants, although the probability is higher here than in any other national park in Thailand. You will only observe the elephants from a reasonable distance and you will not have any interaction with them. We are not in a sanctuary with domesticated elephants but in what would be closer to a reserve where they roam free and where, sometimes, we can see them pass. Note that it is forbidden to photograph with flash (they can scare them).