The wonders of wild elephants in China

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The wild elephants valley of Xishuangbanna 

Coming from South Africa the concept of wild elephants is nothing new to me. The China version of wild elephants was a little different.

It was an early start to the day, we reached there at 7:45 and got our tickets. Ready to see some elephants but first the locals had to stop us to take photos. Turns out the foreigners were almost more exciting than the elephants. 

The first stop on our walk up to the cable car we stopped at the wild orchid garden. No orchids were seen, but then again maybe we just don’t know what they look like. 

When walking up to the cable car one walks along a wooden path build on pillars through the rainforest. Due to us getting there very early we were able to walk most of the way alone which made it very pleasant. The few times we came across a crowd it did get rather loud but one could easily walk away from the crowd.. moral of the story get there before the crowds. 

We were lucky to see some elephants, the wild ones. A mommy and baby walked under us which was lovely to see. We saw a few more in the distance walking through the forest and then we got to the cable car. Honestly this did not look like the safest idea and looked to be built before the smart phone. The cable car was a 35 ride and it was awesome. The views were great and the was not as bumpy as I thought it would be. 

After the cable car we headed to the main attraction which was an elephant show. I being short did not see much through the crowd. In many ways I am glad I did not see much as those elephants did not look well cared for. We did not spend much time there before heading to feed the elephants. This was an amazing experience getting to be so close and touch them. 

A trip to the wild elephant valley is a must if you in Xishuangbanna but nothing beats the sounds of wild African elephants in the bush.  You can read more about it here