5 Days Chiang Mai Cultural Hiking Tour
Tour Overview
This five day slow travel cultural experience is for those who want a deeper insight into Lanna, Thai, and Karen hill tribe culture. We interact with Thai minorities and...
Code of Tour: TAD0000028682
Length of Travel: 5 Day
Destinations of Tour:
Departure City: Chiang Mai
Price of Tour: Request
Type of Tour: Private
Features of Tour: Hiking tours Ethnic culture tours
This five day slow travel cultural experience is for those who want a deeper insight into Lanna, Thai, and Karen hill tribe culture. We interact with Thai minorities and take part in activities as diverse as helping villagers with woodcrafts, cooking traditional Lanna food and offering alms to monks. You also cycle through spectacular countryside and learn how to look after the area’s most beloved residents: the elephants.
ITINERARY
DAY 1
At 9 AM, we pick you up from your accommodation in Chiang Mai and and drive to Mae Wang countryside where we first make a short stop at a local market to stock up on supplies for the next five days.
We then drive to a nearby cycling start point and cycle through villages, past fruit farms, rice paddies, crops and waterways. We also stop at a local Buddhist temple which is a great viewpoint to enjoy the scenery from. After a two hour ride we stop for lunch at a local restaurant.
We then trek to a tropical waterfall before walking to a Karen tribe village. Trekking length depends on your wishes, so please discuss it with your guide and he will choose an appropriate trail. In the village, we meet the Karen family that will host us, have dinner with them and spend the night as their guests.
Meals included: Lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Karen village home stay
DAY 2
Rise early and catch the mists lifting below in the valleys. After breakfast, we walk to the farmland and rice paddies surrounding the village and learn about traditional farming practices. Come prepared; this is a hands-on cultural experience and depending on the season you learn about preparing the fields, maintaining water levels, planting, harvesting, drying or milling rice and other seasonal crops.
Before lunch, we walk to a nearby waterfall and for about 40 minutes and learn how to cook in bamboo stems over fire. We then enjoy a delicious northern Thai lunch jungle style!
When we return to the village, we have a hands-on experience of Karen weaving. Karen lady shows us how to prepare for weaving and how to use a wooden loom to weave traditional striped Karen fabric. This is only a short weaving demonstration. Those who wish to turn it into a weaving class, please let us know in the comments. Weaving class will have two parts, each about 4 hours, and you will finish a piece of clothing.
In the afternoon, we learn how to prepare and cook traditional Lanna dishes during a cooking class. Afterwards, we have dinner and spend the night with our host family.
Meals included: Lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Karen village home stay
DAY 3
After breakfast, we visit the local school where the children love practicing their English! Please note that school is only open on working days. We can adjust the itinerary and move the visit if it falls on a holiday or weekend.
Afterwards, we enjoy more delicious food for lunch before learning about traditional Karen tribe building techniques or woodcrafts, depending on what the villagers need help with during our visit. We could weave a traditional Karen roof using leaves, make bamboo walls for Karen hill tribe huts, make a wooden basket, or a rice broom.
In the afternoon, we walk to Spicy Villa where we have a second Thai cooking class, followed by dinner and a night in a private bungalow.
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Private bungalow at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
DAY 4
After breakfast, we go for a trek in the farmland and jungle surrounding Spicy Villa. We stop at another Karen tribe village and a waterfall and have lunch on the way. Trekking is optional and length and difficulty adjustable. Discuss your wishes with your guide.
In the afternoon, we visit an elephant camp where we learn about Thai elephants, feed them, and cool off in the river as we bathe these gentle giants.
We have dinner and night at Spicy Villa.
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Private bungalow at Spicy Villa Eco-Lodges
DAY 5
Today you can either sleep in or get up early as we have two options:
1.) Enjoy free time between breakfast and lunch
2.) Wake up early and visit a Buddhist temple in the valley to give alms to the monks and make merit. Then have breakfast at a local restaurant and visit local mixed minority school. For the kids this is an opportunity to practice their English – something that can greatly improve their futures.
After lunch, we drive to Wang River for bamboo rafting before heading back to Chiang Mai.
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
