The Mae Sariang Loop via Doi Inthanon – six days

The Mae Sariang Loop via Doi Inthanon – six days

Day 1: Chiang Mai –Doi Inthanon

113 km, total driving time 2,5 hours

Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel for your five-day journey, titled The Mae Sariang Loop via Doi Inthanon. Our first destination is Sanpatong. If we travel on a Saturday, we will stop at the buffalo market’s weekly morning market. Continue to Chomthong, where we will turn off towards Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. Doi Inthanon is a national park with excellent nature trails and thundering waterfalls. Our first stop will be the most popular fall in the park, the Vachirathan Waterfall.

From there, we will continue to the summit of the mountain, where we will visit the shrine of King Inthawichayanon, after which the mountain is named. After that, we will walk the short Angka Nature Trail with its ferns and cloud forest. Next are the two Royal Chedis, constructed in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. It is a popular destination for local tourists. Then it is time for a Thai lunch. After lunch, it is not far from the start of the magnificent Pha Dok Siew Nature Trail. With a local guide, we walk down the thundering Pha Dok Siew Waterfall to the Karen village Baan Mae Klang Luang, famous for its coffee.

We will spend the night in a bungalow overlooking the village’s rice fields.

Day 2: Doi Inthanon – Mae Chaem – Mae Sariang

229 km, total driving time 4,5 hours

Depending on the season, we will drive after breakfast to the starting point of the Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail. This trail is only open from November 1 until May 31. It is a fantastic hike through the forest until we reach an open area with amazing views. It tends to become quite busy on this trail in the cold season, but the views are worth it. A local Hmong guide will accompany us. Then we descend the mountain towards Mae Chaem, a small town in the middle of corn and ricefields. The town is famous for its Teen Jok textiles. We briefly stop at a weaving center. Afterward, we will drive to Ob Luang, another National Park, where we will have lunch. The Ob Luang gorge is the main attraction that we will visit.

From Ob Luang, we will drive to Mae Sariang along a road with beautiful mountain scenery. During the drive, we will make several stops to take pictures and stretch our legs. After arrival in Mae Sariang, you have time to relax at the pool or take a walk around town. Look here for things to do in Mae Sariang. This charming town has some exquisite Burmese- and Shan-style temples. The American anthropologist Charles Keyes lived in Mae Sariang from 1967-to 68 and left a fantastic legacy of photographs and field notes of this anthropological research.

You can explore Mae Sariang on your own or enjoy a beer (or a shake) at the Mae Sariang Bar overlooking the Yuam River.
Overnight at the River House Resort

Day 3: Mae Sariang

Mae Sariang – Mae Sam Laep – Mae Sariang 112 km, about 2 hours driving

After breakfast, we will make an early start to the day. We will drive to Ban Mae Sam Laep on the Salawin or Salween River. This river forms the border between Myanmar and Thailand here. On the other side of the river is Kayin State. There used to be a border crossing here, but the border has been closed for some time. We will board a local boat for a fantastic trip on the river to Sop Moei, a small Karen community. You will not see much going on on both sides of the river. There are no villages and no agricultural fields in this remote area.

It takes about 45 minutes to Sop Moei, where the river splits into the Salawin and the Moei rivers. The Salawin River continues into Myanmar; the border river continues as the Moei River. After our ride, we disembark and take a short walk, during which we visit the local school and chat with some of the villagers. Tourists very seldom visit this area. Back at the river, we board our boat for the trip back to Ban Mae Sam Laep.

It is time for lunch which we will enjoy in the village. After lunch, we will drive back to Mae Sariang, where you will have the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the hotel’s pool or explore the town on your own.
We will spend another night at the River House Resort

Day 4: Mae Sariang – Mae La Up – Khun Yuam – Mae Hong Son

190 km, about 5 hours of driving

After breakfast, we will depart for Ban Mae La Up in the highlands. We will stop at several places during the drive to enjoy the splendid views. Our first stop is the Karen village Baan Huay Horm, famous for its coffee. Of course, we will taste a cup of their coffee. Not far from Baan Huay Horm is Baan La Up, a village of the Lawa people.

The Lawa are the indigenous people of Thailand and were already living here when the Thai people migrated from Southern China. With your guide, you will explore the village and meet some villagers. During our walk, we will visit the local silversmith, who will give a short demonstration of his craft. After this, it is time to continue to Khun Yuam. Before arriving in Khun Yuam, we will stop at the Tai Yai (Shan) village, Muang Pon. This scenic village has a centuries-old monastery called Wat Muang Pon. We will stop here briefly.

Here we will visit the Thai-Japanese Memorial Hall. This museum commemorates the presence of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War 2 and focuses on the history of the “Tai Yai” (Shan) of Khun Yuam. We continue the Mae Sariang Loop via Doi Inthanon to Mae Hong Son. Finally, we will arrive in Mae Hong Son, a town with Burmese, Thai, and Shan influences. We will spend the night in one of our favorite places in North Thailand, the lovely Fern Resort.

Day 5: Mae Hong Son

40 km, about an hour of driving

Mae Hong Son is a delightful place with a scenic lake in the center and marvelous Shan-style Buddhist temples. After breakfast, we will take a tour and visit the local morning market. Next to the market is Wat Hua Wiang, which has a beautiful ubosot. Mae Hong Son was once known as the “Siberia” of Thailand due to its remoteness. It is the “capital” of the Tai Yai people. The Living Museum is a small center with old pictures and information on Tai Yai culture and festivals. After this, we will visit the two temples on the Lake, Wat Jong Kham and Wat Jong Klang.

Mae Hong Son is also the home of the Padaung people, aka the Long Neck Karen. They came to Thailand as refugees from their homeland Myanmar in the 1980s. Here they became tourist attractions, and you can find many negative publications about them. However, we would like you to judge for yourself. It takes a short boat ride on the Pai River to get to their village, Huay Pu Keng. After this, we will go back to Mae Hong Son and drive up to Doi Kong Mu, a small mountain overlooking the town and the airport. On top of the hill is Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu, a beautiful temple. We will spend some time here before we will walk down the Naga staircase.

Finally, we will visit the Su Tong Pe bamboo bridge. This bridge connects a village to an impressive Shan temple.

Overnight will be again at the Fern Resort.

Day 6: Mae Hong Son – Chiang Mai

10 km, about 20 minutes of driving

After breakfast, we will transfer you to the airport for the flight to Chiang Mai. It is the end of your Mae Sariang Loop via the Doi Inthanon trip.