We left Chiang Mai around 9 am by vehicle with guide and visited the Hill Tribe Museum, then on to a quiet elephant camp for a 1-hour elephant ride through streams and over mountains. We then transferred to an ox cart for a 20-minute ride to our bamboo raft and a 50 minute raft ride.
I usually don’t like to ride bamboo rafts, as they have to cut the bamboo from the forest. However, this place uses the rafts over and over for at least one year.
We then transferred to a four-wheel vehicle for the short ride to a Lisu hill tribe village. Here we spent the evening with our host Lisu hill tribe family and guide and enjoyed their way of life. Toilet and showers are available here; however, there is no electricity.
The next morning we returned to the elephant camp by four-wheel-drive vehicle and lunch then on to Chiangdao Cave Shrine for a 1-hour walk through the caves, then on to the quiet small town of Thaton located on the Mae Kok River for the evening. Overnight was at beautiful Garden Home bungalows in Thaton right on the river in a Lychee fruit orchard. Tonight we enjoyed a wonderful all you can eat Northern Thai dinner at a most famous restaurant for locals in the area.
This day we went high into the mountains to visit Doi Mae Salong Chinese Village and other hill tribe villages. We had a nice Yunnan Chinese lunch then back down the mountain to a Shan Chinese village famous for its cotton weaving. We then boarded a private long tail boat and rode through the mountain canyons to Chiangrai, stopping at a Akha hill tribe village and Hot Springs along the way. We got back to Chiangmai around 8 PM.
This morning we traveled to Doi Inthanon National Park and visit the summit of the highest mountain in Thailand, then a short walk through the rainforest on the Michael Trail with colorful birds and wildflowers. We then visited the twin chedi dedicated to the King and Queen, lunch was at the birding center then visited a waterfalls and Karen hill tribe village. Tonight was in bamboo bungalows near the Karen village. Toilets and showers were available here.
After breakfast we took a 4-hour hike on a beautiful trail through the rainforest with colorful birds, butterflies, wildflowers and orchids. Our guide told us about the different plants and birds. This is also the home of the Green Tailed Sunbird, which is found no other place in the world and a common resident. We had lunch at the Doi Inthanon birding center the visited a local Hmong hill tribe market and village. Overnight was again at the Karen village.
Today we visited Nam Tok Mae Ya waterfalls for a barbeque chicken and Papaya salad picnic lunch, then a nice wade under this large waterfall and returned to Chiangmai.
Not enough space here to get into detail, sorry.