Karen Culture and Elephant Experience

Price per person in THB
2 pax	3 pax	4 pax	5 pax	6 pax	7 pax	8 pax
10,800	9,300	8,400	7,800	7,400	7,200	7,000

This three-day program has everything. On the first day, you will participate in a join-in elephant-friendly experience at the Tong Bai Elephant Foundation. With your participation you support the elephants of this foundation.
Then you will embark on a wonderful private trek through the forest, past waterfalls and villages. You will spend the night in a Karen village and learn about their culture and language. You stay will support the local people. We have been working with and supporting these villages for a long time. You will enjoy a relaxing bamboo raft trip before returning to Chiang Mai.

Total approximate driving time:
Day 1 – two hours
Day 2 – two hours

Highlights:

Comfortable and safe transportation

Great elephant experience

Karen villages

Great trekking

Great food

Overnight in a village homestay

Bamboo rafting on the Wang River

From: 10,800.00 ฿

SKU: GTTT01 Categories: Three Day Tours, Elephant Tours Tags: The Royal Project, The Karen people, Asian Elephants

Description

Karen Culture and Elephant Experience

Day 1: Wednesday/Saturday

Chiang Mai – Mae Win (Tong Bai Elephant Foundation)
Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel, you will join the others for the elephant program. Drive to Mae Win where you will be welcome by the elephant expert of Tong Bai Elephant Foundation. There will be a maximum of 9 persons, including you, participating in the elephant program. The foundation has four elephants at the moment in its care.

Introduction of Tong Bai Elephant Foundation

He will introduce you to the elephants and provide you with specific information about the Asian elephant. After helping feed the elephants and meeting them up-close, you will enjoy your lunch with Thai specialities. Afterwards, you and the elephants trek to a river. Here the elephants will take a bath. You can join them, wash them and scrub them.

We will then walk back to the camp before we say goodbye to the elephants and staff of Tong Bai Foundation. Then, we will drive the short distance to our guesthouse. Enjoy dinner at the guesthouse on own costs.
Overnight at Mae Win Guesthouse

Day 2: Thursday/Sunday

Mae Win – Karen Village

After breakfast, your hill tribe adventure begins. Drive the short distance to the starting point of the trek. We will hike to a waterfall where we will rest and have time for a swim. After this, we will trek through the forest about two hours to the Karen village Baan Huai Hoi. Here we will have lunch.

Trekking to Karen village

After lunch continue trekking for another two hours to another Karen Village Huai Kao Lip. Along the way, stop at another waterfall. Enjoy swimming and relaxing before continue trekking to a Karen village. After arrival, your guide will introduce you to your host for tonight. You can explore the community while he starts to prepare dinner. You are welcome to help him with cooking. We also encourage you to practice some Karen language with your host after dinner. Overnight in the Karen village Huai Khao Lip.

Day 3: Friday/Monday

Karen Village – Chiang Mai
Rise with the roosters. Your guide will prepare a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, we will visit the Royal Project. Your guide explains this agricultural project, and we will work a couple of hours helping the villagers take care of the vegetables. After that, walk to another Karen village, Ban Mae Sapok. We will stop at a pretty waterfall where we will spend some time relaxing, swimming and enjoying nature. Your guide will prepare a delicious lunch, jungle style.

After lunch, we will drive to a small rafting camp. Our bamboo rafts will be waiting for us. We will provide life jackets. Please wear them and have a look at our bamboo raft policy. Enjoy a relaxing and, at times, exciting bamboo raft trip for about 45 minutes on the Wang River. After this, we board our truck for the drive back to Chiang Mai. Thanks for joining our Karen Culture and Elephant Experience.

Additional information

Timeline	Day 1 08.00 – Departure from the hotel 09.00 – Short stop at a local market 09.30 – Arrival at the elephant camp 10.00 – Start elephant care and activities 12.00 – Lunch at the camp 13.00 – Walk with the elephants to the river 13.45 – Elephant bathing 15.00 – Drive to the guesthouse for rest and relax 18.00 – Dinner Day 2 08.30 – Breakfast 09.30 – Drive to the starting point of the trek 10.00 – Trekking to Karen village with a stop at waterfall 12.00 – Lunch at the Karen village Ban Huay Hoi 13.00 – Continue hiking to the Karen village Ban Huay Khao Lip 15.00 – Arrival at the village and relax 16.30 – You can help your guide cooking dinner 18.00 – Dinner 19.00 – Meeting with local people and free as leisure Day 3 08.30 – Breakfast 09.30 – Start hiking to the Royal Project 10.00 – Join activities at the Royal Project 10.30 – Continue hiking to the waterfall 12.00 – Picnic lunch at the waterfall 13.00 – Walk to the main road and drive to the rafting camp 13.30 – Arrival at the rafting camp and prepare to raft 14.00 – Start bamboo rafting 14.45 – End of the rafting trip 15.00 – Drive back to Chiang Mai 16.30 – Drop off at the hotel
Included	English speaking guide Transportation by AC Minibus Lunch Drinking water during meals Limited medical insurance
Not included	Other drinks except water  Personal expenses  Tips
What to bring	T-shirt and shorts for daytime  Long sleeves/Jacket during winter time (Nov – Feb)  Hiking shoes with good grip  Flip flops  Sunscreen  Hat or cap  Insect repellent (DEET medicated) Sunglasses  Small backpack