
Day 1: Chiang Mai- Palong village
Bamboo rafting on the Taeng River
This trip is a private trekking tour to the Palong People of Chiang Dao. At 0800 your trekking guide will meet you at your hotel for your Trekking to the Palong People of Chiang Dao. 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 in the coming days. He will take you along and will explain the different ingredients used in the Thai kitchen. Then, continue to a riverside camp on the Tang River, where you will experience a traditional bamboo 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 3 to 3.5-hour trek to the Palong village Paang Daeng Nai. We will have lunch in the forest. Upon arrival in the village, we will visit one of the small Royal Projects. Your guide will explain. Only a handful of Palong communities in Northern Thailand and 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 explain all the different herbs we use for 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 stories about the daily life of the Palong and the village’s history.
Overnight will be in a homestay in the Palong hill tribe village Ban Pang Daeng Nai. For more information on the Green Trails village Homestays, please have a look here.
Day 2: Ban Pang Daeng Nai – Ban Mae Chon
Great trekking
Today is the second day of your private trekking to the Palong People of Chiang Dao. 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 the village shrine and the ‘huja rawl,’ the village heart. After this, we will continue our trek through the forest for about 3-4 hours to another Palong village. Your guide will take his time to explain the natural environment. We invite you to recognize wild ginger, rattan, and the pitcher plant in the forest and tell you about bamboo and its many uses.
Mae Chon, a village of the Palong people
We walk out of the forest into Mae Chon, another Palong village. Once we have arrived in the village, you can rest for a while or play with the children. Your guide will prepare your evening meal for you all, and if you like, you can join him in cooking 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
The exceptional 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 for about 2,5 hours to the Karen village Thakilek. We will stop at a Lahu village, where we will visit the fascinating spirit temple. After this, we will continue trekking to the Karen village where we will rest briefly.
Elephant Poo Poo Paper Park
Drive to the foot of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, the 3rd highest mountain in Thailand. Here we will have lunch in a local restaurant. Visit the famous Chiang Dao Cave Temple, one of the most sacred Buddhist places in the north of Thailand. Drive back to Chiang Mai. The last stop today will be the Elephant PooPooPaper 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.

*The Elephant PooPooPaper Park is closed on Tuesdays. We will visit two handicraft places of your choice in the Borsang/Sankamphaeng area instead.