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 In April 2005, Ban Na opened an observation tower in the forest. From up here it is possible to observe wild elephants (yes, wild elephants!) from a close distance at a saltlick and while they bathe in the nearby stream. Elephants usually have to go to such ‘saltlicks' to get essential minerals, which are lacking or in low concentration in their staple food, by taking in some soil.
With a bit of luck, you can watch elephants visiting the area around the tower, usually in the evening hours. No guarantee, though, can be given to see the animals! They're wild animals with their ‘own schedule and free will’. Other animals, such as deer, wild pigs and wild dogs might also be seen or heard at the saltlick. In the early morning hours you are woken up hearing nothing but the sound of countless birds around you.
Occasionally more than fifteen elephants (some visitors clain forty-according to the guestion) have been seen at the site at one time, but often they come in a group of five or so. A huge tusker (male with ivory tusks) is in the family and several very young ones as well. According to many visitors up there, it's a rewarding ‘experience of a lifetime, just fantastic’. With you being seven meters above ground, the elephants may even be directly beneath you under the tower. Many traces of elephants, such as tracks, dung and destroyed vegetation, can be seen in the area, too. All this so close to Vientiane!
Because you're in the midst of the elephant territory, it is very important to observe rules for your own safety. To minimize the possibility of an accident, the number of visitors is restricted and the instructions of the guides have to be followed strictly at any time. Thus, no self-guided tours are allowed. The most important guidelines are handed out to you for reading before you leave the village for the tower. Since the elephants usually visit the river in the early hours of the night, one cannot walk back to the village in the dark. No one knows whether a lone bull is waiting for you somewhere…! We urgently call on you not to take any risks!
Please do not feed the elephants. This may have unwanted consequences for your safety or for future visitors, since giving food to the animals will most certainly change their behaviour. Please do not forget, wild elephants are no pets. Let us preserve them in the most natural way possible!
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