Elephant Trekking Through Namdapha National Park

Duration: 18 days
Months offered: November thru April
Costs: From $3,000

Namdapha National Park is a 2,000 sq km reserve located on the Indo-Myanmar border. Large mammals such as wild elephants, tiger and several species of primates exist in the region-one of the most biodiverse in Asia. It is guarded on the north by 15,000 foot peaks. A sole river called the Noa Dihing provides access from the west side of the reserve to the east side which borders Myanmar. Living on the Myanmar border side of the park are Lisu tribals that migrated to the region from Yunnan in China ages ago. The are prolific hunters and have illegally poached animals in the park. They poach because they need food and money. Rare animal skins provide money needed to live. One of the ways they can be deterred from hunting is through alternative income generation methods. Ecotourism is one of these methods. Our journey starts in Namdapha where we ride elephants through some of the densest jungles, intermittently emerging into clearings by the river. The journey through the park takes 6 days. Each day is spent either riding on our team of elephants or walking through the forest with Lisu guides- experts at revealing to us the location of the parks most precious wildlife.  Evenings are spent in fully catered camps listening to stories of Lisu and our mahouts (elephant masters). Upon reaching the east side of the park we journey to several Lisu villages in order to glimpse their customs and daily life. We then travel by helicopter back to Namdapha park headquarters in the town of Miao where our journey ends. Contact us for more information on this trip.