Elephant Village (Hathi Gaon) sits near Amber Fort in Jaipur, about 10-15 km from the city centre. A visit with Elefriendride costs Rs 2,500-5,500 per person, runs 2 to 4 hours, and includes feeding, bathing, walking and painting. Open 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily.
Elephant Village, or Hathi Gaon in Hindi, is the area near Amer where Jaipur's elephants are kept and cared for. It sits a short drive from Amber Fort, on the far side of the hill from the city.
This page covers what a visit involves, what it costs, when to come, and what the elephants' day looks like. All the numbers here are ours and none of them are estimates.
Last updated: 27 September 2026.
How much does it cost to visit Elephant Village in Jaipur?
A visit with Elefriendride costs Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,500 per person. That includes feeding, bathing, walking with the elephants and elephant painting. No activity is charged separately. An elephant ride at Amber Fort is priced separately at Rs 2,500 per elephant.
What moves the price within that range: how large your group is, which season you come in, how long you stay, and how many of the activities you want to do.
| What you book | Price | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary experience | Rs 2,500 - Rs 5,500 per person | Feeding, bathing, walking, painting, photographs |
| Elephant ride at Amber Fort | Rs 2,500 per elephant | The ride itself |
We confirm a figure for your group before you travel. There is no negotiation at the gate and no seasonal pricing surprise on the day.
What are the Elephant Village timings?
Elefriendride is open 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, seven days a week. The best slots are 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, when it is cooler and the elephants are most active.
| Time | What it is like |
|---|---|
| 7:00 - 9:00 AM | Coolest hours. Feeding and bathing at their best. Soft light, few people. |
| 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Comfortable October to March. Warm from April. |
| 12:00 - 4:00 PM | Avoid between April and June. Genuinely hot. |
| 4:00 - 6:00 PM | Second best slot. Golden light for photographs. |
Amber Fort opens at 8:00 AM. Coming to us at 7:00 AM and walking into the fort afterwards is the most efficient way to do both in one morning.
Where is Elephant Village and how do you get there?
Elephant Village is near Amber Fort in Amer, about 10-15 km from Jaipur city centre and roughly 20-25 minutes by road. Elefriendride is on Amer Road near K.K. Royal Hotel, Amer, Jaipur 302028.
- From the city centre (Hawa Mahal, MI Road): 20-25 minutes.
- From Amber Fort: a few minutes by road.
- From Jaipur International Airport: about 45 minutes.
- From Jaipur Junction railway station: about 30 minutes.
An auto-rickshaw or taxi from the city centre is straightforward. Ask for Amer Road, near K.K. Royal Hotel. If the driver does not know the sanctuary by name, that hotel is the landmark that works.
What happens on a visit, hour by hour
A full visit runs about three hours in a fixed order: arrival and welcome drink, meeting the elephants, feeding, bathing, walking together, painting, then photographs and departure. Most visitors finish within 2 to 4 hours.
This is the actual sequence. It is built around when the elephants eat and bathe, not around a visitor timetable, which is why it does not change much from day to day.
| Stage | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival and welcome drink | 15 min | You sit down and we explain how the visit works and how to behave around the elephants. |
| Meeting the elephants | 20 min | You meet them before touching anything. Each has a name and a history, and the mahout tells you both. |
| Feeding | 30 min | Sugarcane, bananas and fodder, fed by hand. This is where nervous visitors stop being nervous. |
| Bathing | 45 min | The longest stage and the one people remember. You will get wet. |
| Walking together | 30 min | Walking alongside the elephants rather than on them. |
| Painting | 30 min | Traditional decorative painting using natural, water-soluble colours. |
| Photographs and departure | about 20 min | Photographs, questions, goodbyes. |
That adds up to roughly three hours and ten minutes. A brisk visit is nearer two hours; a slow one with a large group runs to four.
Elephant Village or the Amber Fort elephant ride: which one?
The Amber Fort ride is short and is about the ride itself. A sanctuary visit is 2 to 4 hours and is mostly feeding, bathing and walking. If you want time with the elephants rather than a photograph on one, book the sanctuary visit.
| Amber Fort ride | Sanctuary visit | |
|---|---|---|
| How long | Short | 2 - 4 hours |
| What you do | Ride | Feed, bathe, walk, paint |
| Price | Rs 2,500 per elephant | Rs 2,500 - 5,500 per person |
| Best for | A quick experience at the fort | Time with the animals |
You can do both in one morning. Many visitors do. You can also skip the ride entirely and keep everything else, which is covered below.
How the elephants live
This is the question our UK, US and European guests ask most, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a marketing one.
Elephant riding is debated and travellers reach different conclusions. Some people will read this and decide a ride is not for them. That is a fair conclusion, and we would rather you reach it here than feel misled after arriving.
Our elephants are Asian elephants in our permanent care. A visit is built around feeding, bathing and walking, and those three stages take up most of your time here.
If you would rather skip the ride entirely and spend the time feeding, bathing and walking, tell us when you book. It is a normal request and it changes nothing else about the visit.
We have written separately about whether elephant riding in Jaipur is ethical, including the arguments against it.
Best time of year to visit
October to March is the best time. Temperatures are comfortable and both the morning and afternoon slots are pleasant. April to June is very hot, so come at 7:00 AM. July to September brings monsoon rain, which the elephants enjoy.
| Months | Conditions | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| October - March | Pleasant, 15-27 C | Peak season. Book ahead. |
| April - June | Hot, can pass 40 C | Come at 7:00 AM. Carry water. |
| July - September | Monsoon, humid | Green and quiet. Rain is usually brief. |
There is a fuller breakdown on our best time to visit the elephant sanctuary page.
What does Hathi Gaon mean?
Hathi Gaon means elephant village in Hindi. Hathi is elephant and gaon is village. It is the name used locally for the area near Amer where Jaipur's elephants live, and it is what most drivers and residents will recognise.
If you are asking directions, Hathi Gaon is the more useful name to say out loud. Elephant Village is the English translation you will see written on maps and travel sites.
The area sits on the far side of the hill from Amber Fort, away from the main tourist route. That is deliberate. Elephants need space, shade and water, and the fort side of the hill has none of the three.
This is why a visit here feels different from the fort. There are no queues and no crowds, and the pace is set by the animals rather than by a ticket window.
Photography at Elephant Village
The 7:00 AM and the 4:00 PM slots give the best light. Midday sun in Rajasthan is harsh and flattens everything, particularly grey skin against dusty ground.
Bathing gives the best photographs of the visit, but it is also where cameras get ruined. Bring a waterproof camera or a phone in a sealed bag, or hand your camera to someone standing back.
- Get low. Photographing an elephant from standing height flattens its scale.
- Watch the eyes and the trunk tip rather than the whole animal.
- Do not use flash. It startles them and the mahouts will ask you to stop.
- The painting stage gives the most colour; the walk gives the best quiet frames.
What to wear and bring
- Clothes you do not mind soaking. Bathing is 45 minutes.
- A change of clothes. Almost everyone wishes they had brought one.
- Closed shoes with grip. The bathing area is wet ground.
- Sunscreen and a hat from March onwards.
- Water, especially in summer.
- A camera, kept away from the bathing area unless it is waterproof.
Is it suitable for children and older visitors?
Yes. Feeding, walking and painting suit every age and involve no climbing. Bathing means wet, uneven ground and is the one stage where children need an adult beside them. Tell us about limited mobility when you book and we will adjust the pace.
Children usually settle within the first twenty minutes. Meeting the elephants before touching them is deliberate, and it is what turns nervousness into confidence.
Everything apart from the bathing area is flat and unhurried, with shade and seating at each stage.
How to book
Write to info@elefriendride.com or call +91 99828 28777. Tell us the date, how many people, roughly what time you want to arrive, and whether anyone wants to skip the ride.
Book about a week ahead between October and March. Outside those months a day or two is usually enough.
If you want the rest of the city in the same trip, our day tours in Jaipur page sets out what fits into one day, and the elephant ride at Amber Fort page covers the ride in detail.
Frequently asked questions
About the author
Mohit Bhat runs Elefriendride in Amer, Jaipur, and has spent years arranging elephant experiences and tours across Rajasthan and the rest of India for visitors from the UK, the USA, Europe and Australia.
If something here is unclear, or you want a figure for a group size not covered above, write to me at info@elefriendride.com. I would rather answer before you book than have you arrive unsure.
- Mohit Bhat, Elefriendride, Amer, Jaipur