The Royal Elephant Kraal & Village was established in 1996, and is home to 90 elephants (Oct 2014).
Today a UNESCO world heritage site, the Royal Elephant Kraal is steeped in elephant history. It dates back to the 16th century and was historically a compound where wild elephants were captured and kept. For hundreds of years the King of Thailand would attend the Royal Elephant Round Up and choose the best and strongest elephants that would work and live alongside the Thai people, and be used for labor or the military. The last annual roundup from the wild was in 1906, a spectacular display and testament to the King's power and skills of the mahouts.