TCNX04 - The Old Opium Trail on Doi Pui Tour
The focus of today's tour will be the Hmong tribe. Hmong can be found in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam and are originally from Southern China. Today you will visit them in their home environment and learn about their history, their customs and traditions and about their current way of life.
We will drive to hmong village of Doi Pui with a stop at Doi Suthep temple. Start a beautiful four hour trek on a nature trail on the slopes of Doi Suthep to Ban Mae Sa Mai, the largest Hmong community in Northern Thailand. We will pass huge wild banana trees and witness a natural water source. Now and then we will enjoy the magnificent views through the thick foliage. The trek will be done at a leisurely pace. There will be enough time for making photographs and enjoying the natural environment. We will visit the small Hmong museum before return back to Chiang Mai.
Our guide and driver will meet you at the hotel. Drive to Suthep Mountain. First we will visit Wat Doi Suthep before the crowds arrive. Walk up the 300 steps up to the temple from where you have a majestic view over Chiang Mai. We continue to Doi Pui Village, a Hmong community, close to top of Doi Pui.
Your guide will tell you about the turbulent history of this community. In the past the village was involved in opium cultivation. Nowadays the village is a major tourist attraction on Doi Suthep. We walk around the village before we meet our local Hmong guide who will accompany us on our hike to the Hmong village Ban Mae Sa Mai in the Mae Sa Valley. This hike will take about four hours including stops.
We start hiking through the forest. The local Hmong guide will tell about the flora and about the history of opium cultivation on this mountain. You will also be stimulated to recognize certain plants and trees in the forest with the tree and plant leaflet we will provide you with.
After a walk uphill we will arrive at an open area with fantastic views on both sides of the mountain. We will stop briefly to look at a footprint of Buddha before enjoying a picnic lunch at a scenic spot.
We will continue through the forest to the Hmong village Ban Mae Sa Mai. This village is the largest Hmong community in Northern Thailand and gets very few visitors a marked contrast with Doi Pui Hmong Village. You will learn about a very interesting project of FORRU, the forest restoration unit of Chiang Mai University. We will visit the small Hmong museum and the FORRU tree nursery.
Return to Chiang Mai.
- Transportation by AC minibus
- English speaking guide
- Local Hmong guide
- Thai picnic lunch
- Entrance fees
- Insurance
- Tree and plant leaflet
- Donation of 5 USD per person to the FORRU project
- All drinks
- Personal expenses
- Tips
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