Trekking holiday in Thailand
| country: | Thailand | ||||
| location: | Thai hill tribes | ||||
| departures: | Daily departures year round, no minimum number of people as you will be joining others on this trip | ||||
| price: | From Baht 9,750 (6 days) per adult and Baht 7,350 per child excluding flights
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| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
One of the best places for trekking in Thailand is in the North West near the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Through the region runs the Mae Klong River; and the beautiful landscape is ideal for trekking and bamboo rafting. The scenery along the river is a stunning array of limestone cliffs, waterfalls, wild orchids and giant teak trees. While rafting you can enjoy the birds singing and if you’re lucky you will catch a glimpse of gibbons, snakes or giant lizards that inhabit the dense surrounding wilderness.
The trek through the jungle takes us to Southeast Asia’s largest waterfall, Tee Loi Su (400 meters high), where you can enjoy a nice, refreshing swim, if the weather permits. The sounds and smells of the jungle accompany us on the trek onwards through bamboo forests, dense growth and rivers. Along the way we will sleep in the Karen village of Kho Ta, where it is possible to gain an exciting insight into the tribe’s life and culture. From here the journey continues through the jungle on the back of the village’s working elephants.
Out of respect for the natural surroundings and your experience, we do our best to walk in small groups of two to eight people. You can finish the trip in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Sukhothai.
Best time to go
The Umphang trek normally runs all year, but the period from June to October can be very wet and the tracks muddy – waterproof jacket and wellington boots are recommended. These can be purchased locally and are quite inexpensive. The best period is from November to February, when it is dry and the daytime temperature is around 30 degrees.
The trek through the jungle takes us to Southeast Asia’s largest waterfall, Tee Loi Su (400 meters high), where you can enjoy a nice, refreshing swim, if the weather permits. The sounds and smells of the jungle accompany us on the trek onwards through bamboo forests, dense growth and rivers. Along the way we will sleep in the Karen village of Kho Ta, where it is possible to gain an exciting insight into the tribe’s life and culture. From here the journey continues through the jungle on the back of the village’s working elephants.
Out of respect for the natural surroundings and your experience, we do our best to walk in small groups of two to eight people. You can finish the trip in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Sukhothai.
Best time to go
The Umphang trek normally runs all year, but the period from June to October can be very wet and the tracks muddy – waterproof jacket and wellington boots are recommended. These can be purchased locally and are quite inexpensive. The best period is from November to February, when it is dry and the daytime temperature is around 30 degrees.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Departure from hotel at 20.00. Transfer by VIP-bus from Bangkok to Mae Sot. |
| Day 2: | Arrival at Mae Sot around 5 am. Visit to Thai-Burmese border market. Transfer by Songthaew to Umphang. |
| Day 3: | Bamboo rafting (or rubber dinghy in the rainy season), trekking and sleep over in the jungle. |
| Day 4: | Visit to Tee Loi Su waterfall; swimming and bathing, trekking and sleep over in Karen village. |
| Day 5: | Elephant riding and transfer back to Mae Sot. Transfer to Bangkok (optional, no extra cost). |
| Day 6: | Transfer to Chiang Mai (optional, no extra cost). |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
By running tours in non tourist areas we are supporting these places and giving them income from tourists. We employ only local guides, when they do not have a tour we provide accommodation and food for them. In Mae Sot we visit the border market where our customers can buy handicrafts and locally made souvenirs. We donate money to the Burmese refugee camps in Tak province, and at our Guest House in Bangkok we collect left over clothes from our travellers, which we donate to the Karen village. We also have a donation box. Our guides are taught environmental awareness and make sure all trash is collected from our campsites and stops through out the jungle. We stay with a local family in Mae Sot and in Umphang, in both places the house and huts are locally owned. The families are living in very basic conditions, so when customers arrive there they will live basically as well. There are signs on how to follow the house rules, this could be taking of your shoes before entering the house to pay respect to the Thai culture. It is also mentioned that you should feel at home, but act as it is another persons home. Environment In the Karen village we pay a monthly fee to rent a house where the customers stay during the night. These money goes to the local family. The customers are encouraged to buy local goods in the village, but we do not force them to buy anything. If the elephants are not used for riding, they will be working in the jungle to carry logs. There are more than 20 elephants in the village so they will have a rotation system for riding the elephants. Every elephant has their own mahout. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |