The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam, Elephant sanctuary in Hartbeespoort, South Africa

The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam is a facility where African elephants live under professional care north of Johannesburg. It offers several programs where visitors can observe the animals and learn about their behavior and needs with trained staff.

The Elephant Sanctuary Hartbeespoort Dam is one of three operations of The Elephant Sanctuary Group, alongside Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route and Hazyview near Kruger Park. The group states that it follows the animal husbandry, veterinary care and housing standards and the five freedoms of animal welfare set out in the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria Code of Ethics.

Guides lead morning, afternoon and evening programmes in which visitors feed, brush and walk trunk-in-hand with the resident African elephants. The sanctuary belongs to The Elephant Sanctuary Group, which also runs operations at Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route and at Hazyview near Kruger National Park.

Programs run three times a day year-round and last between 1.5 and 2 hours, so plan a half-day visit. The sanctuary lies in indigenous bushveld in the Magaliesberg Mountains, about 45 km from Johannesburg and 35 km from Pretoria, and is open seven days a week. An overnight stay is possible in an Indo-African style lodge.

The sanctuary is one of three run by The Elephant Sanctuary Group, alongside sites at Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route and Hazyview near Kruger National Park. It follows the animal-welfare code of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria, and an Indo-African style lodge lets visitors stay overnight.