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Travel Retreat · Chiang Mai, Thailand · July 18–23, 2027

Healing with Elephants

Six days in northern Thailand, in a small group of people who have experienced loss. Rescued elephants, old temples, a cooking class, and a lot of unscheduled time.

National Geographic From the founder of Healing with Horses,
named by National Geographic among the world’s best grief retreats

A word before you come

At heart, this is travel with a supportive group that understands grief. You go somewhere far from home and move through it side by side, without having to explain yourself. It isn't a class or a course, so there's no curriculum, no circle time, no one asking you to process on cue.

The week is full — elephants, temples, markets, long dinners — so there is not much room left for structured grief work, and that is on purpose. If what you want is guided sessions and time in circle, our Healing with Horses retreat is built for exactly that. This one is different. The company and the place do most of the work.

Angela with an elephant in Thailand
July 18–23, 2027 · 16–24 Guests

Healing with Elephants

Six Days · Shangri-La Chiang Mai · Optional Bangkok Extension

Something about leaving home loosens things up. We base ourselves in the middle of Chiang Mai and let the city set the pace — late starts, long meals, evenings that run on candlelight.

  • A morning walking alongside rescued elephants at Elephant Nature Park
  • A Thai cooking class, a massage, old temples, night markets, and the Bo Sang umbrella village
  • Group dinners anchoring each day, from a riverside welcome to a candlelit farewell
  • All meals included, apart from a few evenings on your own

From $4,500 per person

Reserve Your Spot
DatesJuly 18–23, 2027
WhereChiang Mai, Thailand
LengthSix days
Circle16–24 guests
From$4,500 / person

306 steps up...

and the whole city below.

Angela Schellenberg, who leads the retreat, in a lavender sweater

A Note From Angela

Grief asks for good company

I'm Angela. I've spent most of my career around grief — other people's, and my own. The thing I keep landing on is that grief isn't really a problem to solve. It's just easier to carry around people who get it.

I lived in Chiang Mai for three years. It has changed since then, so I've planned this week for the city as it is now, not the one I remember. It's a safe, easy place to land, and you will be looked after.

I built this trip for people who have been carrying a loss mostly on their own. The days aren't packed. We eat together, spend a morning with the elephants, walk the temples. You take part in as much or as little as you want.

You don't have to show up strong, or ready, or sure about any of it. You just have to come.

the day the whole week leans toward

The Heart of the Week

A morning with rescued elephants

“Elephants are one of the few animals that grieve the way we do. That is why we come.”

Wednesday · Elephant Nature Park · No Riding, Ever

Elephants mourn. When one dies, the herd will stand over the body for days, and years later they will stop at the bones and turn them over with their trunks. Scientists still argue about what to call it. Standing near an animal that carries its dead like that, and keeps walking anyway, rearranges something in you.

Elephant Nature Park is where they get to do that. Lek Chailert started it in 2003 — the first sanctuary of its kind in Asia — and she has since become one of the most recognized people in elephant conservation. The elephants here came from riding camps, street-begging, and circuses, and a lot of them arrived injured. No riding, no shows. They live in herds and roam the valley, and we walk with them, watch them head down to the river, and hear how each one got here. Experienced guides run the morning and keep everyone at a safe distance, so it stays calm and is set up with your safety in mind.

Vegan buffet lunch at the park, then back to the city with the afternoon free.

Is This For You

You may recognize yourself here

There is no right kind of grief for this, and no schedule you are supposed to be on. People come carrying all kinds of loss. If some of the list below sounds like you, you would fit in here.

You don't have to be sure. Curious is enough.

Why This Week in July

We arrive as Buddhist Lent begins

Our first two days land on Asahna Bucha and Khao Phansa, two of the most important dates in the Thai Buddhist year. It is the start of the three-month rains retreat, when monks stay put in their temples. Candles line the old lanes, and the city goes quiet in a way most tourists never catch.

On Monday evening we walk the temple district as the first candles go up. Not a bad way to start a week.

We come in July on purpose. It is green season — the hills are at their greenest and the crowds thin out. The smoky burning months are earlier in the year, so the air is clear, and the rain mostly shows up as one hard afternoon burst and then quits. A good excuse to nap.

Candle offerings glowing along an Old City temple walk, the golden chedi rising behind, the evening Buddhist Lent begins

For the Early Risers

Mornings that begin in saffron

On Tuesday, anyone who wants to can join the dawn almsgiving. Monks in saffron robes walk their morning routes through the old streets collecting food offerings, unhurried and quiet, as the city wakes around them.

And on our last morning we walk together to Wat Chedi Luang at sunrise. The ancient chedi in first light, monks, incense, stillness. Almost no one else is there.

Both are optional. No one will blink if you sleep in.

Monks in saffron robes walking at dawn almsgiving through the Chiang Mai old city

The Itinerary

Six days, not overscheduled

Mornings hold the main thing each day. Afternoons are usually open. We come back together for dinner. None of it is required, so skip what you need to.

Day One

Sunday, July 18

Asahna Bucha

Arrival & Welcome

  • Arrivals throughout the day. The retreat begins at 4:00 PM.
  • Welcome gathering at the Shangri-La with a traditional Thai dance performance
  • Orientation and community circle: introductions and intentions for the week
  • Opening dinner on the banks of the Ping River
  • Optional late-evening wander through the Night Bazaar, steps from the hotel

Day Two

Monday, July 19

Khao Phansa · Buddhist Lent begins

The Old City by Candlelight

  • Morning experiences: cooking school, Thai massage, or a free morning. The moss-covered terracotta arts garden is a quiet favorite.
  • Afternoon massage session for some, garden cafes and rest for the rest of us
  • Early group dinner at a teak house
  • Evening in the Old City temple district as the first candles of Buddhist Lent are lit: candle offerings, a chanting ceremony at a golden teak temple, lantern light in the old lanes

Day Three

Tuesday, July 20

Mountain Day

  • Optional dawn almsgiving, joining locals as monks walk their morning routes
  • Wat Pha Lat, a hidden jungle temple of mossy chedis and waterfall
  • Doi Suthep: 306 steps to a golden chedi with views over the whole city
  • A Karen hill-tribe village, then lunch at a garden restaurant in the hills with a stream running through the grounds
  • Evening browse of hand-beaten Lanna silverwork and the Night Bazaar

Day Four

Wednesday, July 21

Elephant Nature Park

  • A full morning at Thailand's most respected elephant sanctuary
  • Walk alongside rescued elephants, watch them in the river, and learn each one's story. No riding, ever.
  • Vegan buffet lunch at the park
  • Restful afternoon back in the city
  • Garden dinner together, lush and green in July

Day Five

Thursday, July 22

Craft & Farewell

  • Optional early visit to Warorot Market, where the city itself shops
  • Cooking school for some, the Bo Sang umbrella village for the rest
  • Khao soi lunch at a beloved local spot east of the Ping River
  • A free last afternoon in Chiang Mai
  • Farewell dinner in a historic colonial-era building on the river: art, antiques, and candlelight

Day Six

Friday, July 23

Sunrise & Goodbye

  • Sunrise walk to Wat Chedi Luang: the ancient chedi in first morning light, monks, incense, stillness
  • Farewell breakfast at the hotel
  • Flights home, or a short flight to Bangkok for the optional extension

Arriving a day early? The retreat begins Sunday at 4:00 PM, and your pre-trip packet includes favorite brunch spots, markets, and quiet corners for the weekend before.

Optional Extension · July 23–25

Two more days in Bangkok

Wooden long-tail boats loaded with fruit and flowers at a Thai floating market
Two Nights · Shangri-La Bangkok

The Bangkok Extension

On the Chao Phraya River

For anyone not ready to head home, the week can end with two nights in Bangkok at the Shangri-La on the river, with its own pier and pools.

  • The short flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, included
  • Chatuchak Weekend Market: one of the world's largest, 15,000 stalls of antiques, textiles, and street food
  • Jim Thompson House and the open-air riverfront at Asiatique
  • A rooftop dinner with panoramic city views
  • An early morning boat tour of the Damnoen Saduak floating market on departure morning

+$1,200 shared room  ·  +$1,550 single room

Pricing

Your place in Chiang Mai

Five nights at the Shangri-La Chiang Mai, every group experience and activity including our morning at Elephant Nature Park, and all meals apart from a few evenings on your own. International flights are not included, and alcohol is each guest's own.

Shared Room

$4,500

per person

Share a room with another guest on the retreat. Many guests arrive alone and leave with the friend they roomed with.

Reserve · $1,000 deposit

Add the Bangkok extension · $5,700 total

Or pay in full today · $4,500

Single Room

$5,200

per person

Your own room to return to. Solitude at the end of each day, with the group just down the hall.

Reserve · $1,000 deposit

Add the Bangkok extension · $6,750 total

Or pay in full today · $5,200

Bangkok extension

Two nights at the Shangri-La Bangkok, the Chiang Mai to Bangkok flight, and everything above. Pick the with-Bangkok option when you reserve, or add it later by emailing Angela. The deposit is the same either way.

+$1,200 shared · +$1,550 single

A $1,000 deposit holds your place. The balance is due by May 19, 2027, about two months before we leave. Deposits and payments are non-refundable, because the circle is small and a held place cannot be resold on short notice, so please travel with insurance. Questions first? Reach out.

Good to Know

The practical details

Getting there

Fly into Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX). International flights are not included. Plan to arrive by 4:00 PM on Sunday, July 18.

Where you'll stay

The Shangri-La Chiang Mai, a five-star hotel a short walk from the Night Bazaar. Northern Thai design, a large free-form outdoor pool, Chi Spa, and a health club with gym, sauna, and Jacuzzi. Daily buffet breakfast and parking are included. On the Bangkok extension, the Shangri-La Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River.

The season

July is green season in northern Thailand. Mornings are usually clear, afternoons bring dramatic rain, and the hills are at their most lush.

Sacred days

Our first two days fall on major Buddhist holidays, when public alcohol sales pause across Thailand. We dress modestly at temples and keep those two evenings alcohol-free in public, out of respect.

Chiang Mai, In Color

The Thailand that stays with you

An elephant spraying river water in golden light A gilded temple glowing over the Sunday night market at dusk Candlelit krathongs of marigolds and orchids floating on dark water A bowl of khao soi topped with crispy noodles, lime, and shallots Colorful Lanna lanterns strung across a temple courtyard at dusk A red tuk-tuk passing an ornate temple at night The ancient brick corner of the old city wall above the moat

What This Retreat Is About

New experiences, outside the loss

I lost my parents young, and I carried that grief into adulthood the way so many of us do. Somewhere along the way I started saying a little phrase to myself: travel heals trauma. I can't promise you that — no one can. But I can tell you what travel has done for me. It gave me new experiences to stand on, and it reminded my body that a life outside of my loss was still possible.

There is something about moving through the world — new places, new sights, walking side by side with others — that seems to gently teach us a new lesson: that we can have experiences beyond our grief, and be okay. Not that the grief disappears. It can hurt and it can be okay, both at once. Over a week together, it slowly becomes easier to move between those two — to feel the enormous waves of loss, and to find our way back to steadier ground.

“For me, I’ve come to understand it as my body slowly learning it can hold new experiences alongside the grief.”

So much of that happens in community. When your body is in a safe place beside other people who have lost someone too, something settles. We understand one another without much explanation. We hold space for each other. That kind of quiet companionship does something words alone can't.

And this is the part I hold closest: you will always miss your person. You can surrender to that grief — yes, it is dark — and still go on. They don't have to be left behind just because they died. We can bring their memory with us. We can take them on our travels, imagine what they would say, and find comfort in the relationship we still carry. That is what this week is really about: creating new experiences, in a safe and loving community, without ever leaving our people behind.

My family and I have lived overseas, and we know Chiang Mai from the inside — its temples and its water, its sacred hills, its gentle giants. These are the places and moments that helped me find my footing again in my own grief. I would love to walk them with you.

Come with us.

travel heals trauma...

Thailand is waiting.

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