Thailand hill tribe holiday
| country: | Thailand |
| location: | Thai hill tribes, Northern Thailand |
| trip type: | Moderate trekking holidays |
| departures: | Year round daily departures from Chiang Mai (minimum 2 people). Best time to go is the dry season (Nov-Apr) |
| price: | From US $478 - US $500 (5 days) excluding flights, depending on season (low: 1 May - 31 Oct). Price includes transfers, English/French/German speaking guide, trekking, accommodation based on twin sharing, meals and baggage handling |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Trekking & local lifestyle among various hilltribe villages.
Start with a half a day trek from our ethnic Lisu Lodge to the more simple Lahu Outpost which was built by the village themselves to accommodate guests village on the top of a 1,600 meter mountain.
Afterwards, enjoy travelling using a combination of trekking, elephant riding and white water rafting back to the award-winning Lisu Lodge where you will learn more about Lisu culture with Lisu people.
Leave the lodge using an authentic ex-cart and start trekking towards the Akha Outpost, a typical style Akha house located at the peak of mountain.
Transfer to our cosy and welcoming Khum Lanna, a beautiful house, built in teak wood and surrounded by rice fields – Khum Lanna. Complete your trip by learning the secrets of the world-famous Thai cuisine!
Our services include:Private transfer from Chiang Mai to Lisu Lodge by open air local truck with guide Private transfer from Khum Lanna to Chiang Mai by open air local truck with guide Join-in 5 days 4 nights Lisu & Lanna Trekking with guide assistant Meals as specified as well as local coffee at the market (on Day 5) Baggage handling English/French/German speaking guides Accommodation in non air-conditioned room at Lahu Outpost (no fan), Lisu Lodge (with electric fan), Khum Lanna (with electric fan) and Akha Outpost (no fan) based on twin sharing
Start with a half a day trek from our ethnic Lisu Lodge to the more simple Lahu Outpost which was built by the village themselves to accommodate guests village on the top of a 1,600 meter mountain.
Afterwards, enjoy travelling using a combination of trekking, elephant riding and white water rafting back to the award-winning Lisu Lodge where you will learn more about Lisu culture with Lisu people.
Leave the lodge using an authentic ex-cart and start trekking towards the Akha Outpost, a typical style Akha house located at the peak of mountain.
Transfer to our cosy and welcoming Khum Lanna, a beautiful house, built in teak wood and surrounded by rice fields – Khum Lanna. Complete your trip by learning the secrets of the world-famous Thai cuisine!
Our services include:
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Chiang Mai - Lahu outpost (L, D). Pick up from hotel in Chiang Mai by local truck. Arrive at the Lisu Lodge. A traditional welcome drink will be served. Then, drive by local open-air truck to the area of Pha Mieng. Start walking along jungle trails to the remote village of Hmong Pha Mieng (1.5 hrs). Meet the inhabitants of this small hill tribe village in the jungle. Enjoy a picnic lunch amongst the trees. In the afternoon walk to the top of the mountain (1.5 hrs), where the Red Lahu Village of Pha Daeng is located. Continue walking along a mountain ridge to the Lahu village of Kup Kap (1 hr), from where you have a spectacular view overlooking the Mae Taeng district and Chiang Mai town glittering at night in the distance. Beyond the mountain peaks on the west, the mountainous lie Myanmar (Burma). Dinner and overnight at Lahu Outpost, modeled on a typical Lahu house. (Basic amenities are provided; mattress, pillow, bed linen, blanket, towels, mosquito net, etc. Two western-style toilets and a communal shower are provided.) |
| Day 2: | Lahu outpost - Lisu lodge (B, L, D). After an early breakfast, we go on a one and a half hour walk down a steep jungle path passing by the Huay Sadhan waterfall. This brings us to the spot where we mount the elephants and continue on a one hour ride down to the river. In a remarkable setting on the bank of the river we first enjoy a delicious picnic lunch. Afterwards we go rafting down the river for about 45 minutes. From there, you return to Lisu Lodge. Upon arrival, a traditional welcome drink will be served before you check into your room. Guided by our Lisu villager, walk from Ton Lung temple to visit the herbal garden. Then continue through the village with a stop for a cup of tea at the village shaman’s house. Chat with Lisu shaman or learn about his life, beliefs, curing rites and Lisu traditions. Continue to visit the cultural centre and ‘museum’ created by the villagers. Inside you will find a collection of typical household items and tools from the Lisu as well as the Akha mountain people. Time at leisure until Thai dinner with traditional Lisu dance show. Overnight at Lisu Lodge |
| Day 3: | Lisu lodge - Akha outpost (B, L, D). Breakfast at the Lodge. In the morning, experience an ox-cart ride through farmlands and orchards to the Thai village of Baan Pang Mai Daeng, about an hour ending up back at Lisu Lodge. Leave Lisu Lodge and head to Palong village in Chiang Dao. A tasty picnic lunch will be provided en route. Walk uphill about 3 hours to Akha Outpost. Check-in at Akha Outpost, set in an isolated area with spectacular views: looking north down into the valley far below or to the west, the mountain peaks stretching into Burma and finally in the east; the Lao PDR. For dinner, help your guide whip up a tasty, wholesome mountain meal. Dinner and overnight at Akha Outpost, modeled on a typical Akha house. (Basic amenities are provided; mattress, pillow, bed linen, blanket, towel, mosquito net, etc. Two western-style toilets and a communal shower are provided). |
| Day 4: | Akha outpost - Khum Lanna (B, L, D). Breakfast at the Akha Outpost. Start walking downhill passing by the waterfall to another Akha village. Then take the short drive to Khûm Lanna. Arrive at Khum Lanna and be greeted by local Lanna people. A tasty welcome drink (herbal tea or fruit juice from the garden) will be served. Khum Lanna will provide Thai farmer shirts for guest use during their stay. Enjoy preparations for Lanna country-style BBQ lunch. Start by a garden tour around the compound; collect different seasonal herbs, vegetables, and fruits for cooking. Learning how to ride a water buffalo and do the actual riding. Get your free sample of our “Khum Lanna Thai Recipe Book” before the first Thai cooking class begins. Share an informal Lanna country-style BBQ lunch that you have prepared with your host. Get an introduction to Thai language (which will prepare you for your market shopping next day). In the afternoon we provide you with one hour activity of guided Biking around the Khum Lanna. Late afternoon at leisure until the second Thai cooking class in the early evening. Enjoy the fruitful of your labors with a full 4-course sit-down Thai dinner with your host and friends. Watching a million stars besides a campfire in the garden. At leisure until the scrumptious dinner which you prepared already in the afternoon. Overnight at Khûm Lanna. |
| Day 5: | Khum Lanna - Chiang Mai (B, L). Coffee/tea will be brought to your room for your wake-up call (5:30am) before the sunrise biking trip along the rural country road via San Kwang village to Phrao to visit an early morning local market where local coffee is available. With the help of your guide you may buy local cookie and flower garlands for the temple offering on the way back. Then walk to visit the farmer’s rice and traditional tools shop, chat with the owner and learn more about the rice legends and differences & properties of the varieties of rice. Your local escort will translate. Bike back to Khum Lanna with a stop to visit Wat Pa Gee. Pay respect to the Buddha image under the sacred tree. Continue biking to Khum Lanna along the local canal through the rice fields and get more information about the rice-growing process and the importance place of rice occupies in Thai life. Upon return, refreshment or shower before local Lanna-style breakfast set up on the riverside. Then enjoy some light biking to see the rural village down the road. See the incredible accumulation of beehives on the sacred tree at Ban Nam Phrae and get information about the need for bees and the reason of local conservation. Continue biking to Wiang Phrao Wung Hin (the ancient city 30 years older than Chiang Mai city) to visit a temple and Phra Chao Lan Tong, the most significant Buddha Image of Phrao district. Here, King Mengrai (1259-1317) assembled the villagers and trained them as soldiers to defend the city. Continue to Wat Tham Dork Kum and visit different Buddha stucco figures and the huge reclining Buddha. Picnic lunch will be provided on the top of the mountain, which has a fantastic overview of entire Phrao valley. Return to Khum Lanna. Refreshment and check-out. End of the Experience and transfer to Chiang Mai. |
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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This tour is offered to individual travellers (2-7 people) and based on a program which follows traditional paths and routes and doesn’t require large-scale facilities.
Transportation to and from the respective lodges is provided by local trucks, run by local communities. We use our local tour leaders who are walking with the customers along the jungle trails to remote villages where they are meeting the inhabitants of small hilltribe villages in the jungle. Afterwards they walk to the top of the mountain and along a mountain ridge where some local villages are located. We are training these local tour leaders on a regular basis that they are able to conduct this kind of tour and give a briefing to the customers about various aspects. The local communities running the lodges and local hill tribe houses are getting 1/4 of the profit made, while another part (1/4) is invested in the communities to ensure sustainable development. The money mostly goes to village infrastructure (road, water, electricity, sanitary system), village fund, education fund, villages nursery (kindergarten), tradition culture, religion holding, health care and handicraft promotion. The electricity as well as the warm water is gained through the solar panels as we decided to provide comfort for western expectations without damaging the environment. The Lahu and Akha houses have just basic amenities such as mattress, pillow, bed linen, blanket, towel, mosquito net, two western-style toilets and a communal shower and are run also by the local communities of these remote hill tribe villages. On this tour there are only local restaurants, shops and markets available and at the lodges and houses, the local communities are preparing Thai food for the customers with ingredients from their own production (vegetables, fruits) or purchased locally from the markets.  We are committed to reducing and recycling waste in our offices. Our offices practice double-sided printing, and recycle printer cartridges, whenever possible. Our offices turn off air-conditioning units and PC’s when offices are not staffed. Much of the waste from our offices is naturally recycled (e.g. bottles and paper waste are sold, where they are re-used/ recycled). We are supporting the Green World Foundation in Thailand and will have lecturer from this foundation to conduct seminars in our office for our staff in the near future. We already started selling some environment friendly products (bags, T-shirts) on their behalf and hand over all the money and profit to them. |
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