Yes, you read that right — elephant poo poo. And yes, it’s fascinating.
Located in Mae Rim, just about a 30-min drive from Chiang Mai’s Old City, Elephant POOPOOPAPER Park is one of those quirky, unexpected places that turns into a surprising highlight — especially if you’re travelling with kids (or adults with a good sense of humour).
It’s a refreshing change of pace from temples, flowers, or markets — and it’s educational, sustainable, and genuinely fun!
So… what exactly is it?
When planning my trip to Chiang Mai, I knew I wanted to skip the typical elephant park visits and performances. Yet elephants are quite central to Northern Thailand and Chiang Mai, so it’ll be remiss if there wasn’t some kind of elephant experience. That’s when I came across this park, which I found quite interesting, a park that makes paper out of elephant dung.
Sounds gross? A little. But also intriguing, right?
This eco-friendly outdoor museum and workshop shares with visitors how elephant dung is transformed into chemical-free, usable paper — and lets you try making some yourself!
Did you know?
- Elephants eat a lot of fibre and digest only about 45% of it.
- The undigested fibre in their dung is perfect for papermaking.
- Just 50kg of dung can produce around 125 sheets of A4 paper.
It sounds weird (and yes, maybe a little gross), but the process is completely hygienic (they wash and boil everything multiple times) and genuinely impressive. And it doesn’t smell — seriously!
This is thanks to their vegetarian diet. Hmm… consider a vegetarian diet, anyone?
Still… dung as paper, really?
Thailand isn’t alone in this eco-innovation. Among some of the countries are India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. In Uganda, a group of women have been trying to combat poaching by turning elephant dung literally into a treasure – paper, and a livelihood.
Elephant POOPOOPAPER is one of the most environmentally-sound papers made today. Following its success, the park has also added paper made from the dung of cows, horses and donkeys. Now that’s sustainability for you!
All that processed paper is made into eco-friendly products like stationery collections and gift items like bookmarks, photo albums, cards, paper pads etc, which make for unique, earth-friendly souvenirs.
It’s chemical-free, organic, sustainable, innovative and fun!
According to their website, its pulp is composed totally of natural materials. About 85% come from elephant, cow, horse or donkey poo fibres, with the remaining 15% from waste agriculture bi-products, like coconut shell fibres, banana stocks, corn husk fibres and sugar cane.
What to expect
The experience is a hands-on, interactive experience, especially fun for kids. A friendly guide walks us through each step of the papermaking process:
- Collection and cleaning – Learn how the fibres are washed and boiled.
- Pulp preparation – Mix the mushy fibres into pulp. We had some fun and laughter doing this!
- Sheet forming – Scoop, flatten, and spread the pulp into thin paper sheets.
- Drying and decorating – Introduces the natural dyes that can be added to create patterns or colours to the paper.
There are also fun DIY craft stations where you can make greeting cards, notebooks, or even little poo-paper elephants to bring home. They also have an art studio workshop if you want to flaunt your artistic flair! (Note: additional fees apply for both activities.)
Check out this cute and informational YouTube video by kids on their visit to the park!
Worth a visit
- Eco-conscious and educational – Great way to teach kids (and adults) about sustainability.
- Something different – A break from flowers, temples and markets, with lots of laughs and fun photo ops.
- Great gift shop – Full of pretty and well-designed paper products.
F.Y.I.
- Opening Hours: 9am – 5pm daily
- Entry Fee: 150 THB/pax, free for kids below 5 (includes the guided tour)
- Duration: Allow about 1hr or more for a relaxed visit. Guided-tour takes about 40min.
- Location: 87 Moo. 10, T. Maeram, A. Maerim, Chiang Mai 50180 Thailand
- Tours available: English, Thai and Mandarin.
- Tip: Book online in advance for guaranteed slots.
Ready to see what dung can do?
Elephant POOPOOPAPER Park is a fun and interesting place that’s certainly worth a visit, not just for children but for adults too. It’s a chance to laugh, learn, and appreciate sustainability in a way you probably never expected.
And hey — not everything needs to be pretty to be photographed, right? Sometimes, the best travel memories come from the unexpected and the unusual.
So go ahead, book your ride there or check out Viator and Pelago for a bundled tour with the Sticky Waterfall or the Karen Long Neck Hill Tribe Village.
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