Meet the Karen People of Mae Wang

Day 1: Chiang Mai – Karen Village

Waterfall and Karen People

Your guide will meet you at the hotel for your two day “Meet the Karen people of Mae Wang” trekking. Here you can find more about the history and background of hill tribe trekking in Chiang Mai. Our first stop will be at a typical Northern Thai local market where your guide will do his shopping for the coming days and will explain some of the local specialities that are for sale here. Continue after this, drive to the starting point of the trek. Today we will walk mostly uphill. We will follow a fantastic mountain trail along a sparkling stream with crystal clear water until we reach a camp beside a waterfall. Here we will stay for a while, enjoying a swim in the fresh pool. Your guide will prepare lunch. After lunch, we will trek further up the mountain to a first Karen village. Here we will stop for a chat and say hello to the many adorable pigs. Then we are set for the final stage to the Karen village where we will spend the night. We will first reach the Royal Project of the village. Your guide will explain about this exciting agricultural project. The last part of our hike leads us through dense forest.

Cooking dinner and village overnight

After arrival in the Karen village where we will spend the night, your guide will introduce you to your host for tonight. You can explore the village while he starts to prepare dinner. You are welcome to help him with cooking. We also encourage you to practice some Karen language with your host after dinner while your guide.
Overnight will be in a house in the Karen village.

Day 2: Karen Village – Chiang Mai

Views and ricefields

Rise with the roosters. Your guide will prepare a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, we will start our descent back to civilisation, the second and last day of your hill tribe trekking. We will walk through the village and stop at local houses to chat with the local people. Then we start trekking. We are still at quite high elevation and are rewarded with great views over the countryside. We pass ricefields and trek through beautiful dipterocarp forest before we reach a pretty waterfall where we will spend some time relaxing, swimming and enjoying nature. After a short walk, we will see our trekking truck parked along the road. We will drive to a private house where we will have lunch.

Bamboo rafting on the Wang River

After lunch, we will drive to a small rafting camp. Our bamboo rafts will be waiting for us. In olden days this was an essential means of transportation for local people. Enjoy a relaxing and, at times, exciting bamboo raft trip for about 45 minutes on the Wang River. After this, we board our trekking truck for the drive back to Chiang Mai. It is the end of your “Meet the Karen People of Mae Wang” tour.

Timeline	Day 1 08.00 – Departure from the hotel 09.00 – Short stop at a local market 09.30 – Drive to the start point of the trek 10.00 – Start hiking about three hours 12.00 – Stop for lunch and relax at the waterfall 13.00 – Continue hiking 13.30 – Short visit of the Karen village and local school 14.30 – Arrival at Karen village where we stay overnight, relax at the village 17.00 – Help the guide cooking dinner 18.00 – Dinner at the village before free at leisure Day 2 09.00 – Visit and walk around the village 10.00 – Start hiking about two to two-and-a-half hours 10.00 – Stop and relax at waterfall 12.00 – End of the trek and meet the driver 12.30 – Lunch at local restaurant 13.30 – Start bamboo rafting 14.15 – End of the rafting trip and relax 14.30 – Drive back to Chiang Mai 16.00 – Drop off at the hotel
Included	Transportation by pick up truck Accommodation in the village One breakfast, two lunches and one dinner English speaking trekking guide Bamboo rafting (about 45 mins) Limited medical insurance
Not included	All drinks Personal expenses Tips
Things to bring	Short sleeve shirts for the day time (bring a spare one, just in case) Long sleeves for the evening (especially in the winter Nov – Feb it can be a bit cold) Shoes with good grip (especially in the raining season from May – Sep) A hat or cap Raincoat Sunscreen Flip flops Sunglasses Your personal toiletries Personal medication Fully charged batteries or even an extra battery for your camera. 1000-1500 Thai Baht per person in small (not bigger than 500 Thai Baht and plenty of 100 Thai Baht notes). This is for souvenirs, drinks and tips.
difficulty	Challenging

Due to weather conditions and other conditions on the ground we might have to adjust the itinerary of this trekking. If it is necessary to adjust the program we will always make sure that the quality of your holiday experience and your personal safety are safeguarded.