Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort
A Bill Bensley ridgeline where three countries meet above the Mekong
About the Property
Designed by Bill Bensley and perched on a ridge above the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers, this luxury resort commands uninterrupted views across three nations — Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Originally opened in 1992 as Baan Boran, the architecture draws on Lanna and northern Thai vernacular forms while the grounds house the acclaimed Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, making conservation as central to the experience as the landscape itself.
Original Purpose
Baan Boran luxury resort
Highlights
History Timeline
Sukhothai Kingdom established; northern Thai principalities including proto-Lanna territories begin consolidating along Mekong tributaries.
King Mengrai founds Chiang Rai as the first capital of the Lanna Kingdom at the confluence of the Kok and Ruak rivers near the Mekong.
British and French colonial powers fix the Mekong as the boundary between Burmese, Siamese, and French Indochinese territories at the Golden Triangle.
The Golden Triangle gains international notoriety as a major opium-producing region spanning Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar.
Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort opens, designed by Bill Bensley on a ridge commanding views of three nations, integrating elephant conservation into its programme.
The resort's elephant camp is formalised as a rescue and rehabilitation centre, rehousing logging elephants displaced by Thailand's 1989 timber ban.