Mahouts say they use a regular hose shower to bathe elephants.
For 48 days, 30 elephants in Tamil Nadu are on vacation. Usually employed by temples and dargahs, they are now chilling out at wellness camps in the foothills of the stunning Nilgiri range.
Down time includes special menus and extraordinary baths in a river.
Meals include ayurvedic supplements, rice, grains, jaggery and four hundred kilos of choice green fodder from the jungle every day.
Senthil, a Mahout says, "We only use a regular hose shower to bathe elephants at our temple. The opportunity to bathe in a river has made elephants so happy".
The camp costs the state government nearly a crore, almost three lakhs for every elephant. "Both elephants and Mahouts are happy," says Arjun, a Mahout.
Thanks to this camp, which first began nearly a decade ago, elephants from different temples in various districts have become friends over the years. The reunions are fun, the partings painful.
"In the end, they turn emotional and it takes them a while to recover from separation," says M Rajagopal, a mahout.
It's not all fun and games. The heavier elephants are made to lose weight with daily eight-kilometre walks. Veterinarians examine each elephant to catch and cure any sickness or chronic digestion or respiratory problems.
There has been some opposition to the location of the camp, with critics suggesting that it blocks the corridor of wild elephants who inhabit the area and use this spot to access drinking water.
K Kalidasan, President of an NGO says when the traditional paths of elephants are disturbed, it could lead to a man - animal conflict.
"Elephants would enter villages. All we ask is a shift in location," he said.