A Day in the Life of a Mahout

The day starts before 6am, well before the first guests arrive. Mahouts check on their elephants, prepare the morning’s fruit and grass, and walk the grounds for anything that might need attention overnight.

Through the day, care is constant — adjusting shade, refilling water, watching for limping or unusual behaviour, and of course guiding guests through respectful, hands-off interactions. Evenings end the same way mornings begin: a final check before the elephants settle for the night in the open forest enclosure.

It’s a demanding routine, but for most of our mahouts, it doesn’t feel like a job — several have told us they can’t imagine doing anything else.