Rather than riding elephants across rivers and hills as in the past, visitors to Buon Don are now gradually becoming accustomed to taking photos with elephants, feeding them, as well as listening to stories about the “legend of forests”.

Becoming close to elephants

For generations, elephants have been closely associated with people’s lives in the Central Highlands. Activities involving elephants have become a distinctive cultural feature attracting both domestic and international visitors to Buon Don or the former Lak area. In recent years, with growing awareness of animal protection alongside sustainable tourism development, Dak Lak province has gradually shifted toward an elephant-friendly tourism model, receiving strong support from both visitors and community.

Visitors experiencing the elephant-friendly tourism model at the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Centre.

At Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Centre, the long queues for elephant rides have disappeared. In their place, visitors now engage in gentle, close-range interaction, feeding animals by hand and watching them play in water. They maintain a safe distance, observe elephants moving freely in their natural environment, learn about their behaviours, as well as take photos with guidance and support from mahouts.

Mr. Tran Van Long, a visitor from Hanoi, said he first came to Dak Lak about seven years ago, when he experienced riding an elephant across a river. Returning this time, he was delighted to engage in different activities, interacting with elephants and listening to tour guides as well as mahouts share stories of their capture, domestication, and care. He fully supports discontinuation of elephant riding together with the shift towards a more animal-friendly approach to caring for this unique species.

From awareness to action

The shift towards elephant-friendly tourism is not merely about animal protection but also a way to preserve traditional cultural values. At the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Centre, Yok Don National Park, along with Lak Lake, mahouts, regarded as “living encyclopaedias” of elephant domestication, now have more time as well as opportunities to introduce visitors names and personalities of each elephant, their care routines, along with deep bonds between humans and elephants, akin to family relationships. They also introduce rituals such as elephants health ceremonies practised by Ede and M’nong people. This helps visitors gain a deeper understanding of elephants’ role in the Central Highlands’ cultural life.

Mr. Y Sa Nop, a veteran mahout who has spent many years with his elephant companion H’Khun, shared that in the past H’Khun once carried tourists across rivers at the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Centre. When elephant riding services were discontinued, he initially worried that fewer visitors would reduce his income. However, over time, visitors have shown strong support for animal protection as well as environmental conservation, shifting instead to feeding, interacting with, and photographing elephants.

In practice, the elephant-friendly tourism model in Buon Don has demonstrated that when people learn to respect nature, protecting elephants in particular, and wildlife in general, also means safeguarding the “soul” of Central Highlands forests.

“After more than three years since elephant rides ended, visitors have come to understand alongside support the shift, and now willingly embrace elephant-friendly tourism as a way to help conserve Dak Lak’s precious elephant population”, said Mr. Tran Van Bay, a representative of the Buon Don Suspension Bridge Tourist Centre’s management board.

Translated by KHUONG THAO