Road Trip 2013 : Dubare Elephant Camp

We had heard about elephant washing / feeding from a friend who said she had done this activity with her kid when she had been to Coorg. Needless to say it sounded exciting and a must-do !

We did not have to venture far - about 20 kms from our homestay. And it was an easy drive. From the main road - there is a junction from where it is straight to the Camp.

So off we went. We were told to reach the camp by 9 am max. The entire area is disorganized. In fact it almost looked like we had reached late ! Luckily we found the counter where we took tickets for the boats to the other side. Did some basic rowing and reached.

There we had to take tickets to bathe the elephant. Once this ticket is shown to the mahout - we can scrub the elephant's skin and get a picture of oneself sitting on top of the elephant ! :)

We were not keen on taking a ride on the elephant so skipped that part. Went to feeding the elephant.

The feed that is given to the elephant is a bundle of hay which has unhusked rice inside it. One has to pay for each bundle and we can insert it in the elephant's mouth ! :)

Our daughter was a bit scared initially but the mahouts were friendly and helped her get over her trepidation. After that there was no stopping. She fed the elephant and we took snaps while touching the elephant's tusks ! :)

Tips : 

1. Do go early. The washing finished by 11 am.
2. The mahouts are very friendly. In case you reach late if you pay the mahout he may still give you the experience of washing the elephant.
3. It is not very well organized - so first look for the rafts to take you to the other side - you need to pay at a counter. Everything else will be done on the other side of the river.
4. There is a path to reach the other side without going via the boats. About a km I think but some of the route is water logged. We preferred to just take the shallow rafts.

Rafts to the Elephant Washing Area

Mahout bringing an elephant for washing

Washing area - the elephant is prone here .. at other times - can sit on the elephant after washing it and click a snap

Elephants eat the hay and unhusked rice

Feeding the elephant ... a bit scared initially ! :)

Locals washing their clothes

End of washing time - the mahout now busy .. see the tourists returning in the rafts

The route to Dubare Elephant Cave was very scenic ....