Itinerary

Day 1

Chiang Mai - Mountain Village
Today you'll leave your hotel at around 8.30am in a săwngthăew (converted pickup truck taxi) and head for the starting point of your trek (about a 3 hour drive). On the way, you'll stop at a local market, where you have time to browse whilst your guide makes his last-minute purchases for the group. Then you'll continue the drive far into the mountains, until you come to the start point for the trek. This first hike takes you steeply uphill on overgrown jungle paths for about three hours, to a Palong hilltribe village where you will stay overnight. Your guide will cook you a tasty and well-earned dinner, as you relax after your energetic day. The accommodation is very simple, a wooden hut (just like the locals) with a mat on the floor along with a mosquito net.

Day 2

Hiking and Hill Tribe Village
Today you'll be woken by the cocks crowing and the sound of pigs foraging around the huts. After breakfast, you'll set off for your first hike of the day, a 2½ hour trek to a beautiful waterfall, where you can spend time showering or relaxing. After a good rest you'll start the next 3 hour hike which goes slightly down hill through tropical vegetation, past termite hills and eventually leads into flat paddy fields. You'll have lunch along the way, as you head towards another Palong hilltribe village where you'll spend your second night. There are wild mushrooms and herbs in this area, but be sure not to try any without the guide's approval! Once you arrive into the village you can rest for a while or spend some time playing with the children, maybe even squeezing in a game of football. Your guide will prepare your evening meal for you all, and you will stay in very similar accommodation to your first night.

Day 3

Bamboo Rafting - Return to Chiang Mai
After breakfast you'll take a short hike (about one hour) to a Karen hilltribe village and elephant camp. Now it's time to let your new mode of transport do the hard work, as you climb on top of your elephant. You'll be amazed by the way these enormous beasts tackle the most difficult of paths, and as you no longer have to spend time looking at your own feet, you can see the forest clearly and its spectacular vegetation, waterfalls and rapids. After an hours ride, you'll be brought to a Lahu village. After a short rest you'll travel by săwngthăew to a riverside camp where a bamboo raft will have been prepared for you. You'll take your place on the raft and the helmsman, armed with a long pole, will float you peacefully down the river. Along the way you'll see lots of wild banana trees, and small villages that nestle alongside the river. At the end of you rafting you'll have lunch, and after a good rest you'll be taken back to Chiang Mai, which will take about two hours by săwngthăew.

Extra Information

Inclusions -

Transport, English-speaking guide, lunch and dinner on Day 1, all meals on Day 2, breakfast and lunch on Day 3.

Exclusions -

Drinks and other meals, excursions and entrance fees not listed in the daily itinerary