Chiang Mai jungle trekking
Getting into the jungle while in Chiang Mai is one experience you shouldn’t miss. Trekking is one of the activities that made the north famous in the first place, but there are now several other more adventurous or leisurely ways to get into the mountainous national parks and wilderness areas. Trekking, elephant riding, mountain biking, ATVing, trail biking or even swinging through the treetops on zip lines are your choices for getting in among nature.
There’s a unique collection of eco-environments in Chiang Mai province depending on the season. With its sub-tropical upland location, sandwiched 500kms between two large oceans, it gets equal measures of monsoon downpours and cool dry weather. Because of this many Thais favour Chiang Mai as a winter destination for the novelty of experiencing the coolness of the Himalayan foothills. But visitors in the rainy off-season will experience it at its best, when the lushly ‘carpeted’ tropical mountains up to 2,500m are at their greenest.
The valley floor, however, is at only 300m, characterised by equally pretty rice paddies and lazy rivers, but hot and almost Savannah-like in the dry season from January to May. It can be 30°C in the city over Christmas, but one-hour’s drive away sub-zero on top of Doi Inthanon – Thailand’s highest peak. Trekking in the winter season is therefore cold at night, and in the rainy season wet - it’s all part of the experience. Regardless of the time of year, the eco-systems above 1,000m are generally lush and rivers and streams flow year-round.
Editor’s pick! Aping around with the gibbons
This is one we really recommend; it’s new to Chiang Mai and there’s not many of them in Asia. Flight of the Gibbon is a zip wire trip through the canopy of northern Thailand’s giant dipterocarpus trees (up to 60 meters tall), in the Mae Takhrai National Park mountains east of the Ping Valley. The ride is a thrilling three-hour experience in harnesses, sometimes ‘flying’ across ravines 50 meters deep, and sometimes being dropped ‘like superman on a bungy’. Its fun for the whole family, big or small, and isn’t strenuous. Their use of a UK safety inspector impressed us, and it’s a nice opportunity to get up into the lush and lofty Mae On range on the far east side of the valley. You’ll be one of the few tourists who do get to see this part of Chiang Mai, but the gibbons, alas, are yet to be ‘re-introduced’.
Trekking
This is the number one reason budget travellers come to Chiang Mai; to go on two, three or four-day hikes through unspoilt jungle, and staying nights in primitive hill tribe villages. The host tribe is often different every night with their unique colourful costumes. It does require some fitness, and the tours often include an elephant ride and skiff ride. There are also single-day ‘adventure treks’ offered. Numerous companies around town offer all sorts of treks to different areas; you can find out which to choose on this full page about trekking.
Self hikes
If you’d rather not go on an organised trek and prefer to explore by yourself, it is realistic to find your own way to some trail heads up the mountain. The easiest way is to catch a songtaew (shared taxi) up the mountain and get off at the first small chedi you see, where there is a road descending to the forest temple of Wat Phalat. Here you’ll find a 10m waterfall and trails descending each side of this to eventually meet up and emerge near the TV. You’ll then have to wander down to the university. A less obvious trail goes further up to Wat Phra That Doi Suithep. If you’re really adventurous you can drive through the suburbs that abut the base and find plenty of trail heads up that are all popularly used but overgrown in the rainy season and hidden under leaves in the dry season. Hire a guide for the day from one of the trekking companies to make it easy.
Elephant riding
One strictly for the tourists, the ‘soft adventure tourists’ that is. It starts with a fun elephant show where they kick footballs, paint pictures and bang drums to lots of laughter. Then you are mounted two-by-two into the enormous howdahs before bumbling off into the jungle. Be warned, the trundling gait of these giant domesticated beasts is not that comfortable! But you do get to climb steep jungle paths amid the bamboo, then splash through rivers in very pretty scenery. The Mae Rim Elephant Camp is the nearest and busiest, but try spending a day visiting the Lampang or Mae Taman elephant camps, with the latter being north of Chiang Mai in the mountains.
White water rafting
A unique way of seeing the jungle is from the water, but on the Mae Tang River you’re so busy riding the rough rapids you don’t have much time to admire the steep valley walls around you. However, the drive up here is an adventure, and you launch from the charming Thai riverside village of Sop Kai. Siam Rivers is the most safety conscious outfitter, with safety being an absolute must on this particular river.
Mountain biking
One of our personal favourites, simply because the 1,700m Doi Pui mountain is covered in fire roads and single track that bounce their way down the mountain. It’s mostly downhill, sometimes pretty hairy downhill on advanced routes, and it’s definitely the most practical and fun way to experience this great mountain. We rate the Ping Valley, mountains and hills as some of the best mountain biking in Asia, with single track and cross-country adding variety. It’s worth spending one of your days in Chiang Mai descending the 1,500m trails from the mountain, and the only company offering all levels of riding on full suspension bikes is Chiang Mai mountain biking . Serious downhillers can seek out Mad Monkey; they have limited but challenging courses on more expensive bikes. Those with their own bikes can go exploring the trials behind the 700 Year Stadium (not quite ‘jungle’), which are pretty good and emerge at Huay Tung Tao Lake. Read more on mountain biking.
ATVs and buggies
Starting out from the multi-activity X-Centre in Mae Rim you work your way up the mountain in these imported, all-purpose dune buggies. You get to do the driving yourself - sometimes it’s pretty steep and you need to keep your nerve. It’s a muddy experience in the rainy season, but fun if you’re not that athletic.
Dirt biking
Renting 250cc enduros is popular and you can go so much further under your own steam. Just riding to Pai is a great windy mountain jungle experience. If you buy a copy of the local best-seller maps, Mae Hong Son Loop and Samoeng Loop, you can tackle these multi- and single-day loops. Or you can explore the many mountain farm roads in the area, as seen on these up-to-date maps from GT-Riders. If you’d rather have it all laid on we recommend the Peak, who offer a variety of different activities include guided groups of off-roaders.
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