Visiting the Elelphant Nature Park in the hills behind Chiang Mai was an awe-inspiring day. Created by Lek Chailert, the park is home to a large number of rescued elephants. Many of the elephants have heart-wrenching pasts of abuse as either logging elephants or as entertainment for tourists. Lek runs the park with volunteers from all around the world. No riding here people, just looking, feeding, and helping give them a wash.
Here is the parks website if you would like to visit, or perhaps even spend some time there helping out.