The Amazing Tribal Diversity of Chiang Dao
Price per person in THB | ||||||
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2 persons | 3 persons | 4 persons | 5 persons | 6 persons | 7 persons | 8 persons |
7,900 | 6,300 | 5,000 | 4,400 | 4,000 | 3,700 | 3,500 |
During this three-day private tour you will explore the beautiful mountains of Northern Thailand, home to a variety of tribal people. You will visit the Karen and the Dara-ang. Your overnights in the Dara-ang villages will support local people. We have been working with these villages for a long time. We consider this one of our Chiang Mai jungle trekking and forest bathing tours.
Total driving time:
Day one: two hours
Day two: none
Day three: two hours
Highlights:
Comfortable transportation
Mae Malai local market
Whitewater rafting
Great trekking
Palong tribal culture
Great food
Two overnights in Palong villages
Local life
Fruit and vegetable gardens
Lahu village and spirit temple
Karen tribal culture
Chiang Dao Cave
Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park
From: 7,900.00 ฿

Day 1: Chiang Mai- Palong village
Whitewater rafting on the Taeng River
Your trekking guide will pick you up at your hotel or guesthouse for your Chiang Dao private trekking. Here you can find more about the history and background of hill tribe trekking in Chiang Mai. 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 the Tang River where you will make an experience an exciting whitewater raft trip. Continue by car to Chiang Dao where we will start trekking.
Royal Project at Paang Daeng Nai
We will start our trek with the hike to the Palong village Paang Daeng Nai, which is part of one of the Royal projects. Here the guide will explain about this agricultural project. Lunch will be at the village. There are only a handful of Palong communities 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.
Overnight at the village
Your guide will introduce you to the Thai kitchen and will explain to you about all the different herbs we use for the Thai dishes. After that, you can help him 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.
Overnight will be at Palong hill tribe village Ban Paang Daeng Nai
Day 2: Baan Pang Daeng Nai – Ban Mae Chon
Great trekking
The second day of your Chiang Dao private trekking. 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 continue our trek through the forest about 3-4 hours to another Palong village. Your guide will take his time to explain 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.
Mae Chon, a village of the Palong people
We walk out of the forest into the Mae Chon, 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.
Overnight will be at Palong hill tribe village Ban Mae Chon.

Day 3: Ban Mae Chon – Chiang Mai
Spirit Temple at Lahu village
It is the third day of your Chiang Dao private trekking. After the sounds of nature and the locals woke you up, your guide will prepare breakfast. After breakfast, we will trek about 2,5 hours to the Karen village Thakilek. Along the way, we will stop at a Lahu village where we will visit the fascinating spirit temple and. After this, we will continue trekking to the Karen village.
Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park
Drive to the foot of Doi Chiang Dao, the 3rd highest mountain in Thailand. Here we will have lunch in a local restaurant. Visit the famous Caves of Chiang Dao. Drive back to Chiang Mai. Last stop today will be the Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park. During an excellent self-guided tour, you will see all the stages of the production of paper from elephant dung and learn about the history of papermaking. Return to Chiang Mai. It is the end of your Chiang Dao private trekking.
Timeline | Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 |
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difficulty | |
Included | English speaking guide |
Not included | Other drinks except water during meals |
Things to bring | Short sleeve shirts for the day time (bring a spare one, just in case) |