The Wild Elephant Valley is located in the north of Mengyang Town,
Jinghong City(Xishuangbanna), named Sancha River, which is south of
the Mengyang Nature Reserve, about 50 kilometers to Jinghong down
town, it is very convenient go get here from Jinghong city. The
wild elephants moved about most often in this area, hence got the
name Wild Elephant Valley. The virgin forests here are the home of
wild elephants. They often come here bathing, seeking for food or
playing with water.
China is an elephant producing country covers a long history, with
the development of the human society, and the gradual changes of
the nature and the times, there are only about 300 Asian elephants
living and multiplying on the virgin forests of Xishuangbanna. With
the strict protection from the government, Xishuangbanna naturally
becomes the best place for wild elephants to stay and live.
Therefore, the Wild Elephant Valley becomes the only place where
tourists can observe wild elephants in Xishuangbanna in
China.
There are two kinds of elephants live here, the elephant groups
that move and live in the protection zones between Mengla and
Mengyu are called national elephants while those move and live in
the Mengla protection zone are called international elephants. They
have their own pass to go out and come in between China and
Laos.
In 1990, the government began to set up a forest park and open to
visitors in 1996, with viewing the wild elephants and the tropical
rain forests as the theme of the park. The houses for watching wild
elephants are all built uniquely on the trees, so visitors can
watch the elephants closely, and the visitors are quite interested
in this kind of buildings. When watching the elephants, you can
stay next to the various birds, and meanwhile the pleasure of
enjoying the butterfly garden, 2 wonderful elephant shows everyday
will all give you a lasting memory about your trip to
Xishuangbanna.
