Why we don't offer elephant rides, at Amber or anywhere

Where we stand

• The same rule for all animals: no captive animal shows, no snake charmers or performing monkeys, and no photographs posing with a wild animal.
• One simple question: before we book any animal encounter, we ask whether the animal is better or worse off because our guests came. With rides, we think the honest answer is worse.
• We are not purists: Rajasthan has always lived with working animals, and we still arrange short camel and horse rides with owners we know, at the cool ends of the day.
• Our full policy: our page on ethical animal encounters lists everything we will and won't book.
• Not a campaign: we are a travel company, not a charity. We simply choose, on behalf of our guests, the encounters we can stand behind, and we explain our reasons openly.

Elephants in Rajasthan's story

• In paint: elephants march across the haveli walls of Shekhawati and through the monsoon scenes of the Bundi painters.
• In faith: Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, sits above doorways across Rajasthan and gives his name to the Ganesh Pol at Amber.
• Why it matters to us: this is a reason for respect, not for a ride. The elephants in our history were honoured animals. We would rather honour them now by leaving them be.

Why the ride itself is the problem

• The chain: between shifts, ride elephants are commonly chained or tethered, which is no life for an animal that walks long distances in the wild.
• The heat: Rajasthan's stone ramps and forecourts grow very hot, and an elephant's feet, which suffer on hard surfaces, take the strain.
• The load: a howdah, a mahout and paying passengers, trip after trip, on a steep climb.
• The loneliness: wild elephants live in close family herds led by older females. A working elephant often spends its days apart from others of its kind.
• The concerns are not new: welfare groups and official inspections have raised questions about the health of working elephants at tourist sites in India for years. We would rather not be part of the demand.

What about the mahouts?

• The system, not the man: our concern is the demand that keeps elephants working, not the people who care for them every day.
• What would help: a future in which elephants are kept for their own sake, in sanctuaries and care centres that employ the people who know them. Some charities already do this.
• What we ask of guests: be kind and courteous to mahouts you meet. A smile costs nothing, and they are not the villains of this piece.

Bathing, painting and feeding are rides by another name

• Feeding and selfies: close contact with a wild animal is risky for you and stressful for it, however calm it appears.
• Babies on show: a young elephant performing for visitors has usually been separated from the herd life it would have known.
• The word sanctuary: it is used loosely. Ask whether anyone rides, bathes or poses with the elephants. If they do, it is not the kind of sanctuary we book.
• Our line is simple: we don't book any experience where visitors handle, ride, bathe, paint or feed elephants.

Amber Fort without an elephant

• If walking is hard: we drive you to the upper gate, so you lose nothing but the climb.
• What you gain: quiet. Most groups are still on their coaches, and the first hour in the fort belongs to you, your guide and the pigeons.
• Inside: the Ganesh Pol, the Diwan-i-Aam and the Sheesh Mahal, the mirror palace, are best seen before the courtyards fill.
• Read on: our guide to Amber Fort, our journal on sunrise at Amber Fort and the wider Amer and Nahargarh guide.

Where to see elephants the right way

What we book instead

Questions to ask any elephant experience

• Are they chained? Ask where the elephants spend the night, and look for chains or short tethers.
• Do they perform? Painting, tricks, music or football are signs of training for show.
• Are there babies on display? A sanctuary does not breed elephants for visitors.
• Who runs it? A registered charity or forest department care centre is a better sign than a roadside operator.
• Where do they come from? A good centre explains where each animal was rescued from, and why it cannot go back to the wild.
• How do the elephants look? Swaying, head-bobbing and rocking on the spot are widely seen as signs of stress in captive elephants.

What the law says, in brief

• A recent debate: the 2022 amendment to the Act eased some rules on transferring captive elephants, which many conservationists criticised.
• Ivory: never buy it, old or new. Our ethical animal encounters page lists other wildlife souvenirs to refuse.
• Our view on the law: legal is not the same as kind. Our line goes further than the law requires.

What most visitors miss at Amber

• Jagat Shiromani temple: a finely carved temple in the old town, dedicated to Krishna and quiet in the early morning, when the priests are at prayer.
• The Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing: a restored haveli in Amer, and the best hour's introduction to Rajasthani block printing.
• Jaigarh above: the fort on the ridge above Amber, home of the great Jaivana cannon. See Jaigarh Fort.
• Maota Lake from below: walk the lakeside garden on the way down for the classic view of the fort's reflection.

Camels, horses and the animals we do ride

• How we choose: handlers who keep their camels healthy, rested and properly fed. We look at the animal before anyone climbs on.
• When we say no: if a camel looks tired, thin or sore, we don't ride, and we tell the owner why.
• The Marwari horse: recognisable by its curving, inward-turned ears, ridden only with estates and stables we know. See Marwari horse safaris.
• On the dunes: our camel safari page explains how we plan short rides and nights on the sand.

If someone in your party still wants to ride

• For the grandparent: a gentle drive to the upper gate at Amber, and a seat in the courtyard with the guide's stories of the old processions.
• For the photograph: the view of Amber from Maota Lake at first light is the picture everyone wants, and no animal has to carry you to it.
• We won't arrange it: if a guest decides to ride independently, that is their choice, but we won't book it or send a guide with them.
• We don't judge: most people who have ridden did so before anyone told them the other side. We were once among the families who thought nothing of it.

Travelling with us, if you love animals

• Photographers: relaxed, unbaited animals make better pictures than any posed elephant.
• If your heart is set on a ride: we are honestly the wrong company for that part of your journey, and we would rather say so now.
• Responsible travel more widely: read how we approach travelling responsibly and sustainable travel in Rajasthan.