Explore the Jungles and Rivers of Huai Nam Dang

Explore the Jungles and Rivers of Huai Nam Dang

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Ban Pong Noi

Visit the fantastic Mae Malai local market

This trip is a private trekking tour. Your guide will meet you at the hotel at 0800. Drive to the area where we will start our trip. Explore the Jungles and Rivers of Huai Nam Dang begins. Our first stop will be at the local market at Mae Malai. Here your guide will do his shopping for the coming days. You can join him. He will explain the different ingredients he will be using for dinner. This market is one of the most interesting local markets in North Thailand.

The towering Mork Fah Waterfall

After our market visit, we will continue to the spectacular Mork Fah waterfall, where you can swim and relax. This waterfall is part of the Doi Suthep Doi Pui National Park. Enjoy a simple but delicious lunch at a roadside restaurant. After lunch, we will continue to the Pong Deuad Hot Springs, where we will stop briefly. These hot springs are already part of the Huai Nam Dang National Park. Here we will start trekking. We will hike for about four hours through the beautiful forest, away from the modern world. The trail goes up and down but is not too difficult. About an hour before we reach the Sgaw Karen village, where we will spend the night, we pass through an area with amazing views.

Overnight in the Karen village

After arrival in the village, you can relax, explore, or learn Thai cooking by helping your guide prepare dinner. He can explain the herbs and ingredients he uses. You will learn to cook on a woodfire in a wok, which is not easy but great fun! After dinner, your guide will take you to one of the village houses, where you will meet some of the villagers. We will teach you some words in the Sgaw Karen language, such as “tablu,” the greeting. After that, we will enjoy our first night in a homestay in a Karen village in the Huai Nam Dang National Park. For more information on the Green Trails village Homestays, please have a look here.

Day 2: Ban Pong Noi – Ban Mae Ma Nai

After breakfast, more trekking

Wake up on the second day of your four-day journey through one of the best national parks in North Thailand. Your guide will cook a healthy breakfast. We will give you good food, which is necessary on this intense trip through the mountains. This has been the home for the Karen people for more than a century. It is time to say goodbye to the people of Pong Noi village and thank them for their hospitality. This morning we will start trekking into the forest for two to three hours. On the way, visit the rice and vegetable fields of the villages and learn about the villager’s traditional methods of cultivation.

Afternoon trekking through the national park

We will enjoy lunch in the jungle. After lunch, you will continue trekking to the Karen village of Baan Mae Ma Nai for about two hours. You will also have the chance to fish at Mae Tang River using local tools and learn how to construct a bamboo raft. The evening is free of planned activities to explore or relax. Overnight will be in the Karen village Ban Mae Ma Nai.

Day 3: Ban Mae Ma Nai – Ban Pong Ngan

From the Karen to the Lahu people

After breakfast, trek for about three to four hours to the Black Lahu village Ban Pong Ngan. Enjoy this lovely hike through the unspoiled forest. Your guide and assistant will treat you to an authentic jungle-style lunch like the Karen people have enjoyed for centuries. We go back to when people knew how to live in the forest and use plants and herbs for food and medicine.

The Lahu people, hunters of the forest

After lunch, we explore the forests and waterfalls of Huai Nam Dang to Ban Pong Ngan, a village of the Lahu people. After arrival, you have some time to explore the village, which is on the Taeng River, a lovely location. Most Huai Nam Dang National Park villages are Karen communities, so finishing the trip with an overnight at a Lahu village would be very nice. The Lahu people were once known as the best hill tribe hunters. Of course, hunting is not allowed anymore in protected areas. Your guide will again prepare some excellent food for dinner and teach you some words in the Lahu language, which is very different from the Karen language. We will spend the last night in this Lahu community.

Day 4: Ban Pong Ngan – rafting – Chiang Mai

The best bamboo rafting in North Thailand

Breakfast at the community. Our bamboo rafts are waiting for us. We will provide life jackets. Please wear them and read our bamboo raft policy. Enjoy a wonderful bamboo raft trip along the Mae Tang River to a Shan village, where we will have lunch. Drive back to Chiang Mai by truck, where your Huai Nam Dang trip ends. We will drop you at your hotel at around 1600. We hope you have enjoyed our trip: Explore the Jungles and Rivers of Huai Nam Dang.