Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary

Hi all,

Just want to share with you a terrific place we found in Pahang recently. Kuala Gandah is about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur - off the Karak Highway. Turn off at Lancang, then after the toll, turn right and just drive straight till you see the sign for the Elephant Sanctuary. The program starts at 1pm with a video show by National Geographic on how elephants are relocated from their original habitat as theses areas are being used up by people for planting crops etc. Then at 2pm, elephants are taken out ( adult and baby, the baby elephants are so so cute - like Dumbo!) and we get to feed them with fruits upclose. My kids had a wild time...we can either put the food on near their trunk and they will scoop it up or put it straight into their mouths and you'll get to feel their tongues!

Then we get the ride the elephants around the sanctuary, of course there will be trainers walking along side with each elephant. Then the fun part - you will get the bathe the elephants and bathe with the elephants in the river. Now this is not for the squeamish.....the river is not that super clean and there will be elephant poo floating about ( yes...poo poo) but it is really a chance for a lifetime. The elephants are smart. They will carry a load of people on their backs and then dunked them in the river! of course my hubby and kids are not the squeamish type unlike yours truly here so they got dunked and had a whale of a time. Adam was standing in the river when a poo floated right in his path. Hubby managed to carry him out of the way just in time while mummy was screaming her head off!

We never knew of a place like this in Malaysia and it is FREE! You can of course give a donation. Go, I highly recomend it. If you can find time to go on a weekday even better because it won't be so crowded with tourist.

Nearby, there is a place called Deerland. Worth visiting as well. The kids get to feed deers ( one deer stepped on my foot in its haste to get fed...OUCH!), ostriches ( do you know they eat petai plants?), bears ( yes...the bears are tame and the kids fed them Milo from a bottle!) and even kancil ( mousedeer). You don't get this experience in a zoo and the entrance fee is just 5 rgt!

It's a nice day outing....two hours each way....highly recomended....bring sunlotion, change of clothes ( there is shower facilities at elephant sanctuary), have lunch first before going as there is a small gerai selling food that may not be too appealing to the kids.

Want to know more....? Call me or email....