Forests and endless rice fields

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Mae Kampong

Your guide will meet you at the hotel. It’s a beautiful drive to Mae Orn and onwards to Mae Kampong. Along the way, we stop to buy the ingredients for our lunch and fruit of the season. We will continue to Mae Kampong. Here we will have a drink before we board a local truck that brings us to the starting point of our hike. It’s just a short walk to the Kew Fin viewpoint. On a clear day, you can see Doi Luang Chiang Dao, Thailand’s third-highest mountain, and Chiang Mai. We are on the edge of the Chaeson National Park.

Forest bathing in Mae Kampong’s lush forest

You can choose between a difficult and a less difficult walk: you can hike up to the summit of Doi Mon Lan which is about 45 mins up and then descend to Mae Kampong, or you can take a trail directly down to the village. Mae Kampong itself has become a popular destination, especially for local tourists in the cold season. Few visitors hike the forest trails around Mae Kampong though. It is a fantastic hike through the forest. There is time for some “forest bathing”: relax and feel the healing force of the forest! One of the most prevalent trees at this elevation is the Pinus Kesiya, a pine tree. We have enough time to stop to take pictures of some of the colourful flowers we encounter in the forest.

Homestay in Mae Kampong

Along the way, we will enjoy a picnic lunch. After lunch, we will continue to the Mae Kampong waterfall. Until tourism arrived, the villagers made a living from growing Bai Miang. Your guide will explain about Bai Miang and other plants in the forest. After arrival back in Mae Kampong, we will check into our homestay. We will recommend a small restaurant where you can have dinner on your own. After dinner, a traditional massage is available on own costs. Overnight will be at a small guesthouse in the village. Temperatures in Mae Kampong are on average about 5C lower than in Chiang Mai. Enjoy the cool weather. By the way, we also offer a one day tour to Mae Kampong.

Day 2: Mae Kampong – Baan Thi – Chiang Mai

Sankamphaeng Hot Springs

We will rise early to visit the local temple and give alms to the monks. Breakfast will be at your homestay. At around 0930 we will start our journey back to Chiang Mai. Our first stop will be the Wat Prathat Doi Hang Bat. We will walk up the Naga staircase to this small and seldom visited temple. From the small hill we have a nice view over the rice fields and on Doi Suthep Mountain.

After this we will continue to Ban Thi District. It is a beautiful area with extensive rice fields, sugar palms with mountains in the background. It’s a lovely, typical Northern Thai countryside with villages, temples and markets.

The country of the Tai Lue

Next destination is a Tai Lue village. The Tai Lue people originally come from Yunnan in South China. About 200 years ago they migrated from Shan State in Myanmar to areas around Chiang Mai, such as Ban Thi and Doi Saket. The Lue people have their own language but very few people still speak Tai Lue. The alphabet of Tai Lue is similar to the Northern Thai language. We will visit their small museum and make a relaxing bicycle ride through the rice fields. We will stop at several houses where people make rice cakes and small bamboo baskets.

Phet Viriya, the master woodcarver

Last stop today is the workshop and museum of Phet Viriya: Baan Jang Nak. It is the House of Many Elephants. You will find out why when you enter. Phet’s ancestors are Tai Lue from Muang Yong aka Mong Yawng in Shan State. They are called Tai Yong but are in fact Tai Lue. Phet is the master carver of wooden elephants. Baan Jang Nak is one of our favourite places in Chiang Mai and receives few visitors surprisingnly. Phet also made beautiful paintings, depicting the migration of his ancestors to Chiang Mai. After this, it is time to drive back to Chiang Mai. Along the way we can stop at a small umbrella and parasol factory, if you wish.