Located 85 kilometres south of Chiang Mai, the Friends of Asian Elephant Foundation(FAE)’s Elephant Hospital in Lampang is the world’s first medical centre for these elephantine giants and treats all kinds of problems suffered by its pachyderm patients.

Motala, for example, stepped on a landmine in 1999 in Myanmar. She walked three days and three nights to cross the border into Thailand from where it took another 10 hours to arrive at Lampang’s elephant hospital. The poor elephant lost her left front leg.

Mosha came into the hospital in 2006 with a similar problem. The young elephant had stepped on a landmine and lost her right front leg.

Fortunately, thanks to prosthetic limbs, both elephant are now able to stand on their feet again. Mosha and Motala became the first two elephants to receive prosthetic legs thanks to the FAE and its generous donors.

Other inpatients are “Donte”, a cheeky and playful baby elephant, “Boonmee”, another landmine victim, and “Bobo”, who was abused in captivity.

You don’t have to be a sick elephant to visit the Elephant Hospital. The medical centre is always ready to welcome visitors and elephant lovers.

The hospital is right next door to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre – Lampang’s famous tourist destination that’s home to many adorable elephants.