Authentic Experience in Chiang Mai: Palong Villages Stay and Chiang Dao Trek

Chiang Mai Trip Overview

Venture into the jungle of northern Thailand on a private trek accompanied by an expert guide, round-trip from Chiang Mai! Enjoy three days of trekking near Chiang Dao, a small town set in spectacular mountains. Your guide will take you to visit remote hill tribe villages of the Palong, Akha, Karen and Lahu peoples. You’ll be welcomed into the villages with northern Thai cooking and overnight accommodation in modest bamboo huts. You’ll also have leisure time to explore the vibrant northern city of Chiang Mai before and after the trek.

Additional Info

Duration: 5 days
Starts: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Trip Category: Outdoor Activities >> 4WD, ATV & Off-Road Tours

What to Expect When Visiting Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

Venture into the jungle of northern Thailand on a private trek accompanied by an expert guide, round-trip from Chiang Mai! Enjoy three days of trekking near Chiang Dao, a small town set in spectacular mountains. Your guide will take you to visit remote hill tribe villages of the Palong, Akha, Karen and Lahu peoples. You’ll be welcomed into the villages with northern Thai cooking and overnight accommodation in modest bamboo huts. You’ll also have leisure time to explore the vibrant northern city of Chiang Mai before and after the trek.

Itinerary

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Trekking briefing

Pass By: Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai
Arrive in Chiang Mai and transfer (on own to Chiang Mai Hotel.
At 18.30, meet with the organizer of tomorrow’s trekking tour in the hotel lobby for a briefing – please bring your passport along.

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight at Wangburapa Hotel

Day 2: Chiang Mai – Chiang Dao

Stop At: Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao
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 Tang River where a bamboo raft will be waiting for you. Your helmsmen will manoeuvre the raft through the gentle rapids. 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 Daeng 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 Ho, 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 your guide to cook 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 the history of the village.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in village homestay

Day 3: Full day trekking

Stop At: Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao
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 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 to you about the natural environment. We will invite you to recognise 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 cook dinner. At the campfire after dinner, it’s time to share some more stories with your guide and the local Palong people.
Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in a village homestay

Day 4: Trekking and back to Chiang Mai

Stop At: Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao
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 fascinating spirit temple and a blacksmith.
After this, we will continue trekking to the Karen village.

After that, drive to the restaurant where we have lunch. Drive back to Chiang Mai by truck. On the way back we will make a stop at an orchid nursery.

Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Wangburapa Hotel

Day 5: Chiang Mai – end of the program

Pass By: Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai
Free morning. Check out at noon

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.

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