Chiang Mai: Hiking the Trails of Chaesorn National Park

Leave the city behind and explore the forested mountains

The forest of Chaesorn National Park

This is a private tour. Your guide will meet you at the hotel at 0730 for your Chiang Mai: Hiking the Forest Trails of Mae Kampong and Chaesorn National Park. You can find a review of this trip here. Drive to Mae Kampong village, a lovely community in the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. It’s a beautiful drive of about one hour and 15 minutes. Upon arrival in Mae Kampong, our local guide will meet us. After a short toilet stop, we will transfer to a four-wheel-drive vehicle to bring us to the Kew Fin viewpoint, right on the border of Chiang Mai and Lampang provinces. We are at an elevation of 1517 meters above sea level.

Hiking down to the Mae Kampong Waterfalls

Here we will start our trek down from the park office to the Mae Kampong Waterfall. This will take about two hours. The trail is mostly down not too steep. Pine trees and dipterocarp trees cover the area. Enjoy the silence of the forest with the occasional chirping of the birds. We will pass through coffee plantations in the forest. There will be plenty of time for photo stops and to enjoy the natural surroundings. We will be forest bathing!

The Mae Kampong Waterfall

We will follow a trail that runs along the Huay Mae Kampong, the mountain stream that is the source of the Mae Kampong Waterfall. This waterfall has seven levels. Our trail meets the waterfall at the third level. If you have the energy you can ascend to the higher levels. This waterfall has water cascading all year round. We enjoy some time admiring this nice waterfall where you, unfortunately, are not allowed to swim.

From the Mae Kampong waterfall, it is only a short walk back to the village, where we will enjoy lunch. Coffee has become one of the most important products of the village. After lunch, we will take you to one of the coffee producers of Mae Kampong. Here your guide will explain the process of coffee production. Other villagers are making handicrafts such as decorated pillows filled with tea leaves, rattan baskets, and bamboo furniture. Late in the afternoon, we return to Chiang Mai.

The House of Many Elephants

On the way back to Chiang Mai we will have time to stop at Baan Jang Nak, the House of Many Elephants. This is the museum, atelier, and workshop of Phet Wiriya, the master woodcarver of elephant statues. This is a fascinating place where we will enjoy some time watching the artisans carving wooden elephants and working on giant cement statues. During the weekend the artisans will not be there but it still is worth a visit. After Baan Jang Nak we will bring you back to your hotel. Your Chaesorn National Park tour ends here.

We also offer a two-day program including Mae Kampong and Chaeson National Park