Elephant-friendly tourism experience at Yok Don National Park

While walking on the forest trail in Yok Don National Park, Krong Na commune, Buon Don district, Dak Lak province, female elephant H'Blú saw food and immediately signaled to her fellow elephants. Following H'Blú, female elephant Kham Phanh also quickly moved forward to enjoy the pre-cut banana trees. After finishing eating, they leisurely walked to the river bank to drink water and bathe for tourists to watch.

All activities of the two elephants take place naturally, without being forced or commanded by the mahouts. Visitors stand at a safe distance, watching the elephants' activities and listening to the tour guide introduce the characteristics, information and history of training and care of each elephant.

Ms. Phan Ngoc Que Lam, a tourist from District 11, Ho Chi Minh City, who participated in the experience, shared: “The feeling of elephants in the wild, they feel comfortable, I myself also feel comfortable when seeing such a scene. Elephants are wild animals, and being in the forest will feel more natural. The tour guide shared a lot of interesting information about elephants and I hope to learn more about them.”

This experience is an elephant-friendly eco-tourism tour jointly implemented by Yok Don National Park and Animals Asia since mid-2018. With the goal of preserving the domesticated elephant herd in Dak Lak in the face of the fact that elephants are increasingly aging, losing their freedom, and becoming exhausted. There are currently 10 elephants participating in the model, including 6 female elephants who regularly interact with tourists.

According to Mr. Pham Xuan Quynh, project officer of Animals Asia, the elephants participating in the program are truly free in a semi-wild environment, free from chains and human control. Instead of sitting on the elephants' backs, visitors can watch the elephants from afar, watch them eat, bathe, sleep, and walk in the forest... without directly affecting their lives.

'Using these measures will gradually help the elephant return to its natural nature, it will know where to find food, how to treat itself, how to take care of each other. Gradually, the elephant's psychology will be more comfortable and its health will improve. Food and drink will be exactly what it needs; the elephant's welfare will be improved,' said Mr. Pham Xuan Quynh.

Over the past 6 years, Yok Don National Park has welcomed tourists to visit and experience elephant-friendly eco-tours. In 2023, this experience tour was announced by the Vietnam Record Organization as one of the 20 most unique tours in Vietnam.

Mr. Y Siem Hđơk, a tour guide at Yok Don National Park, said that this recognition shows that the model not only has a positive impact on elephants and the natural environment, but is also extremely loved and supported by tourists. “The elephant experience tour is currently a tour that attracts domestic and foreign tourists, bringing humanistic values ​​to individual elephants. During the elephant experience, I will convey messages to tourists to love elephants more.”

Mr. Vu Duc Gioi, Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Services, Yok Don National Park, said that the unit is making efforts to diversify the forms of experience as well as existing products to attract tourists. "The park has also divided the elephant experience tours into half-day or full-day tours, or shorter tours to suit the time, conditions, and needs of tourists. In the future, after the tourism project is completed, Yok Don National Park will call for investors to enter into joint ventures, partnerships, or rent the forest environment for people to invest in developing the park's ecotourism."

With its rich biodiversity and many rare species of flora and fauna, Yok Don National Park is home to food, water and suitable habitat conditions for the domesticated elephants in Dak Lak to adapt and return to semi-wild living conditions. This creates opportunities for them to be preserved for a long time, healthier and freer, while also creating a unique type of experiential tourism, exclusive to visitors to Dak Lak.