The Chiang Dao Experience Trekking Tour - 3 days
Highlights:
An unforgettable jungle trekking. Experience the life of various hilltribes and enjoy the beautiful countryside. Enjoying with bamboo rafting.
Difficulty Level:
During these three days you will explore the beautiful mountains of Northern Thailand, home to a variety of tribal people. You will visit the Karen, Lahu, Palong and Akha. Each of these tribes has their own traditions, customs, history and language. Before the trek starts we will provide you with information on the tribes, on their language as well as on the natural history of the area. Your guide will unveil the secrets of the forest and will teach you the basics of Thai cooking if you are interested to assist him with preparing dinner.
On the last day you trek to a Karen village before we drive to visit the Chiang Dao Cave. After this we will drive to the Mae Sa Valley where you will visit the elephants of Mae Sa Elephant Camp before we end the trip at the Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park.
An elephant ride is not included in this program.
If you wish to include an elephant ride we will do this at the riverside camp on the morning of day 1. In the latter case departure time will be an hour earlier on that day.
Tour Code:
TTTK22
Duration of this Tour:
3 days
Departure Time:
08:00 am
End Time:
4 - 5 pm
Transportation:
trekking truck
Accommodation:
hilltribe house
Price per person in USD | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 pax | 3 pax | 4 pax | 5 pax | 6 pax | 7 pax | 8 pax |
$242 | $207 | $171 | $155 | $145 | $137 | $132 |
Itinerary:
Day 1: Chiang Mai - Palong village
Meals:
Lunch
Dinner
Description:
Your trekking guide will pick you up at your hotel or guesthouse. We will drive into the mountains. On the way, you'll stop at the Mae Ma Lai market. Your guide will do some shopping for the coming days. He will take you along and will explain about the different ingredients used in the Thai kitchen.
Then, continue to a riverside camp on the Tang River where you will make an experience an exciting whitewater raft trip by rubberboat before boarding a bamboo raft for a short trip. Your helmsmen will maneuver the raft through the gentle rapids. Continue by car to Chiang Dao where we will start trekking. Continue to Chiang Dao where we will leave the main road to drive to an Akha village Ban Huay Hok.
We will start our trek with the first hike of about one hour to the Palong village Pang Deng Nai, which is part of one of the Royal projects. Here the guide will explain about this interesting agricultural project. Lunch will be at the village. After this visit we will start trekking to Pang How, another Palong village where you will stay overnight. There are only a handful of Palong villages in Northern Thailand. The Palong tribe only recently moved from Myanmar to Thailand. The women wear a distinctive costume mostly in red, with rattan hoops and a silver belt worn around the waist.
Your guide will introduce you to the Thai kitchen and will explain you about all the different herbs we use for the Thai dishes. After that you can help him to cook the dinner. After dinner he will take you to one of the local houses to tell you the stories about the daily life of the Palong and about the history of the village.
Day 2: Palong village – waterfall – Palong village
Meals:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Description:
After the sounds of nature and the locals woke you up, your guide will prepare breakfast. After breakfast your guide will show you around the village. He will explain about the village shrine and about the ‘huja rawl’, the ‘village heart’. After this we will start trekking for about two hours to a waterfall where you will have time for a refreshing. Enjoy a delicious picnic lunch at the waterfall.
After lunch we will continue our trek through the forest about 3-4 hours to another Palong village. Your guide will take his time to explain you about the natural environment. We will invite you to recognize wild ginger, rattan and the pitcher plant in the forest and tell you all about bamboo and its many uses.
We walk out of the forest into the rice fields to Huay Bong, another Palong village.Once we have arrived in the village you can rest for a while or spend some time playing with the children. Your guide will prepare your evening meal for you all, and if you like you can join him to prepare dinner. At the campfire after dinner, it’s time to share some more stories with your guide and the local Palong people.
Day 3: Palong village – Chiang Mai
Meals:
Breakfast
Lunch
Description:
After the sounds of nature and the locals woke you up, your guide will prepare breakfast. After breakfast we will trek about 1.5 hours to the Karen village Thakilek. Along the way we will stop at Lahu village Ban Huay Bong where we will visit the very interesting spirit temple and a black smith. After this we will continue trekking to the Karen village.
Drive to the foot of Doi Chiang Dao, the 3rd highest mountain in Thailand. Here we will have lunch in a local restaurant. Visit the famous Caves of Chiang Dao. Drive to to the Mae Sa Elephant Camp in the Mae Sa Valley. This camp has three shows per day and allows elephant riding. We will do something different today. You will meet a couple of young elephants and their mothers. Your guide will give you information about the plight of the Asian elephant which is an endangered species. The camp also has a small information centre which we will visit. You can make pictures of the elephants and pose with them. We have brought some fruit with us that we will feed the elephants. The elephants will enjoy your visit.
Last stop today will be the Elephant Poo Poo Paper Camp. During an excellent self-guided tour you will see all the stages of the production of paper from elephant dung and learn about the history of papermaking. Return to Chiang Mai.
Included:
- English speaking guide
- Private transportation by trekking truck with upgrade possibility to minibus (supplement charge)
- Accommodation in a local house
- All meals during the trek
- Drinking water
- Coffee and tea
- Information paper
- Rubber boat whitewater rafting (about 25 mins)
- Bamboo rafting (about 15 mins)
- Elephant Experience
- Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park
- Chiang Dao Cave
- Medical Insurance
- Use of sheetbag or sleeping bag
- Use of Mosquito net
- Use of Backpack (on request)
- Toilet paper & Soap
- Towel
- A flashlight is provided in the village
Not Included:
- Other drinks except water
- Personal expenses
- Porterage
- Tips
- Elephant ride (extra costs 400 Thai Baht per elephant; maximum two persons per elephant)
- Elephant show (extra costs 100 Thai Baht per person)
Things to Bring:
- Short sleeve shirts for the day time (bring a spare one, just in case)
- Long sleeves for the evening (especially in the winter Nov - Feb it can be a bit cold)
- Shoes with good grip (especially in the raining season from May - Sep)
- A cap
- Suncream
- Flip flops
- Sunglasses
- Your personal toiletries
- Personal medication
- Fully charged batteries or even an extra battery for your camera.
- 1000-1500 Thai Baht per person in small (not bigger than 500 Thai Baht and plenty of 100 Thai Baht notes). This is for souvenirs, drinks and tips.
Notes:
Due to weather conditions and other conditions on the ground we might have to adjust the itinerary of this trekking. If it is necessary to adjust the program we will always make sure that the quality of your experience and your personal safety are safeguarded.
Please respect local customs and traditions. We will give you a document named "code of conduct in the village". Read it before you go on your trek. Dress conservatively in the village. Please refrain from or, at least minimize, the intake of alcoholic beverages while you are in the village.
We recently travelled for 3 weeks in Thailand with our kids, 9 and 11 and Chiang Mai was one of our destinations. We did a lot of research to find a tour that would take us through remote places and to authentic, ie non-touristy, villages where we could mix with the local people. Tiger Trails offered a memorable experience! During our 3 day trek, our friendly, knowledgeable and worldly guide, Chai, guided us through virgin forest and prepared amazing food with what seemed like few resources. He entertained us each night with fun brain-teasers and was a fountain of information about the places and people. The villages were beyond our expectations. We were the only "foreigners" there and the village children took no time in adopting our 2 kids to go off and play, be it in the river, soccer, or making crafts. Even more amazing was how the village families included our children in the nightly dancing and singing, dressing them in custom clothing and guiding them in the dance steps. Each place we stayed at was spacious, clean, and we were even delighted to have an awesome outdoor shower with water warmed by the day's sunshine! We met with the very friendly owner of the company at the end of our trek and he was genuinely interested in having feedback regarding his tours - great integrity! This hill trek remains a highlight of our trip to Thailand and we highly recommend this company!!
Visited March 9-11, 2012
Date posted on Trip Advisor: Apr 26, 2012
Date removed on Trip Advisor: Mar 10, 2013
Tour: TTTK22 - Chiang Dao Experience private tour - 3 days
Guest: Jacquelinefe