Surin Elephant Village

Ban Ta Klang, the Elephant Village is located at Ban Ta Klang, Tambon Krapho. The village area is paddy and grove interspersed with sparse forest, which is ideal for rearing elephants. The original villagers of Ban Ta Klang are Suai or Kui, who are skilled in catching wild elephants, training, and raising them. In the past, most of them would travel to catch elephants in the Cambodian border area, but with the current international political situation, the villagers cannot go around the border to catch elephants like in the past. Still, the Ban Ta Klang villagers still raise and train elephants to participate in the province’s Elephant Roundup every year. The people of Ban Ta Klang raise elephants like a friend. They sleep under the same roof as the owner until the elephants become similar to being a part of the family. This has caused a strong bond between humans and elephants. When tourists visit Ban Ta Klang, in addition to seeing the way of the aforementioned raising of elephants, they also experience the livelihood of the Suai people along with meet and talk with the veterinarian who has experience in carrying for elephants. In the village, there is Elephant World that is situated on 500 rai of land. It is the largest elephant conservation centre in the world with exhibitions about the story of the elephant, and it is a source for studying academic information about elephants. The interior is divided into eight parts, e.g., the elephant showground, swimming pool, watching tower, cinema, museum, and forest walk, which offers both a normal walk or adventure walk. As such, it is known as a comprehensive attraction about elephants. It is open daily 08:30-16:30 Hrs. For more information, Tel. 0 4451 1975.