Tag: Thailand experiences

Guide to Trekking Doi Inthanon National Park

Trekking on the Highest Mountain in Thailand at Doi Inthanon National Park

The best in nature and culture Thailand has to offer

“An incredible 2 day experience”
Rob, Vancouver, Canada“		“real Thailand -not made up for tourists” Christine, Madrid, Spain

When it gets too hot to stay in Chiangmai city, no worries, just go to Doi Inthanon National Park a short 90 kilometers away. Bring a jacket, believe it or not, you will need it. We load the pick-up truck and head to the highest mountain in Thailand at Doi Inthanon National Park. The park is very large with no public transportation so if you want to visit the park best to rent a motorbike or better yet take a 2 or 3 day tour or trek.

Before I tell you more about the park I need to mention that I speak Thai and live in Chiang Mai since 1989. I have visited the park hundreds of times through the years. Many in the park do not speak English, their are local guides available but only a few speak English.

My suggestion if you do not speak Thai is to do the 1 or 2 night Home Stay at the home of a local Karen Hill Tribe English Speaking Guide who speaks perfect English. The guides village is away from the normal tourist areas in beautiful setting. As this is a private Home Stay with local Karen hill tribe guide, you will have lots of time to discuss with your guide the local hill tribe life and the surrounding forests. You will meet his family and partake in daily life. Your guide will also discuss with you the different trails and their difficulty and you can then decide which trail to hike and for how long. This can all be discussed with your guide once you arrive at the bungalows in the park. You can then work with your Karen guide picking and roasting coffee, feeding fish at the trout fish farm, learn weaving with a back strap loom, plant or harvest rice in the fields or hike in the forest for 2 to 6 hours with you guide. The itinerary can be changed to meet your desires.

WARNING: If going by motorbike DO NOT rent a automatic transmission motorbike. This is because when you go down the steep hills the automatic motorbike goes into natural. You will not have back pressure from the motor to slow you down and only the brakes will slow you down. Brakes may overheat and fail. Rent a automatic clutch motorbike so you can down shift gears to help slow you down. A Honda Dream or Wave works great.

Soon after entering the park gate, the road climbs steeply through a cutting before leveling out, passing the Doi Inthanon National Park Information Center, overlooking the Mae Klang river on the left. The road passes through open dry forest and after crossing over to the left bank, follows the course of the river, overlooking it. In the dry season, the leaves of the trees become yellow and red, before being shed.

As the road climbs gradually, an evergreen gallery forest begins developing along the banks of the river, supporting many tall and stately trees. Soaring birds of prey can sometimes be seen over the steep ridge on the north side of the road. The more level areas in the vicinity of the river are now cultivated and support small areas of orchard or vegetable gardens. Above Wachirathan waterfall, the road once again crosses over the Mae Klang River and continues to ascend the mountain, following the north bank. The surroundings change very abruptly in character, and pines predominate in many areas.

Mae Klang Luang village Doi Inthanon Thailand

The next area supports Hmong and Karen villages, there are many government offices and residential buildings, including the headquarters of the National Park and various highway and construction works. Here is where the campsites are but you first must check in at the Park Headquarters. There are also cabins for rent however most are rented well in advance. Here we are above 1500 meters and the temperature is like a beautiful spring day.


Time to find a camping spot. Its lunchtime, so we travel to the Karen hill tribe village area of Baan Mae Klang Luang at the 26 Kilometer road marker Here there are several restaurants and a coffee and waffle shop in a beautiful setting.

From here the road winds uphill sharply and past a park checkpoint. Just a little further is a mountain ridge with excellent vistas on both sides of the road. If the weather is clear, at one spot you can see the city of Chiang Mai on your right. Just a little further on your left is the twin Chedi dedicated to the King and Queen. These beautiful Thai structures are a must visit. You will need to walk up several flights of steps to reach them but well worth it.Next stop is the summit. Here we get out of our vehicle and walk up the steps to the shrine dedicated to the Lanna Thai King who first designated this area as a national park. Walk behind the shrine to a concrete pillar and stand on it. You are now on the highest point in Thailand.We departed Chiang Mai at 9 am it was already 35 degrees C. and started the short 1 1/2 hour drive to the park. We left Chiang Mai by highway 108 through Hang Dong and Sanpatong and then about one kilometer before Chom Tong turned right on highway 1009. There is a big sign in English stating “Doi Inthanon” where you turn so it’s easy to find. Continue 8 kilometers to where the road forks and then keep to the right where you will see the park entrance. The entrance fee is 300 baht and they have free maps and information for you that you will need. A copy of the park map can be seen online and might be a useful reference as you read this article.You need to know the park rules that levy stiff fines if broken (such as for picking flowers); these rules are written on the back of all the maps and brochures.A local guide is required for all trails in the park and available at the Gew Mae Pan trail . If you are caught on the trail without a local guide the fine is 2000 Thai baht each.https://www.youtube.com/embed/OQHxiWVtKUY?rel=0After getting all the information we needed we headed straight to Baan Mae Klang Luang at the 26 Kilometer road marker for accommodations reservations where we both noticed a thermometer and found it was a perfect 26 degrees C. We decided to spend our first night in a tent and second night in a bungalow. I wanted to do the Hill Tribe Home Stay but my wife wanted something more comfortable so we stayed in the bungalows. We made our reservations for the bungalow with All Thailand Experience a week ahead of our trip to the park. Since we were going to ride around the park the Coffee and Waffle shop kept our bags for us and we proceeded to the camping area next to a beautiful stream in a garden setting to pitch our tent. Here they have hot showers and toilets close by to use for free Tents can be rented for 200 baht and blankets at 20 baht each.Choice of several bungalows from rice field view to stream side. Each bungalow has 2 queen sized beds, hot shower and western style toilet. 3 bedroom bungalows available.Stream side bungalow at Baan Mae Klang LuangMae Klang Luang bungalow roomStream side bungalow Doi Inthanon National Park ThailandStream side bungalow at Doi Inthanoon National Park ThailandAfter putting up the tent we were getting hungry and headed back to see our friend and birding guide Grace and went to eat at a restaurant serving delicious Thai food at great prices near the hydroelectric plant. While having lunch we were told that a 7- man soccer match was being played this afternoon on the soccer field next to the restaurant on the Park Headquarters grounds. The match was between a Karen hill tribe village and a Hmong hill tribe village located in the park so we stayed and watched the action under the shade trees drinking ice-cold beer. We made plans to do some hiking on the Gew Mae Pan Trail near the Doi Inthanon summit (above 2000 meters tomorrow) so today was for relaxing, which I myself am very good at doing.Just before dark we ate our dinner, again at the bungalows at Baan Mae Klang Luang, got our things from the Coffee and Waffle Shop and went to our camp. In May there aren’t many people in the park so a secluded place to put our tent was easy to find. We built a nice campfire and I spent the evening reading while my wife did her crochet. The only sound was that of the crickets and with the smell of pine and clean fresh air drifting off to sleep was a total pleasure I haven’t experienced in many months while living in the crowded city. The next morning we awoke early and packed up the tent and returned to the Coffee and Waffle Shop for a great cup of coffee and delicious waffle and again he kept our bags for us. I checked the thermometer and it was a cool 18 degrees C.The bungalows have a Thai food restaurant, fresh coffee and waffle shop plus a general store for beer and snacks.
Waffle shop at Doi Inthanon National Park ThailandWaffle shop at Doi Inthanon National Park ThailandWaffle shop at Doi Inthanon National Park ThailandWaffle shop at Doi Inthanon National Park ThailandWe had our breakfast at the Coffee and Waffle Shop at Baan Mae Klang Luang headed toward the summit passing fruit and flower stands owned by Hmong Hilltribe people. Here we stopped to have a look and across the street were green houses filled with beautiful flowers. The growing of flowers is a Royal Project so the hill tribe people can live in harmony with the park’s conservation plans instead of doing their traditional slash and burn farming.The 2.5-kilometer Gew Mae Pan Trail begins about half a kilometer past the twin Chedis at kilometer marker 42. We decided to leave our vehicle at the Chedi and walk the horseshoe shaped trail to the end and return the same way. This turned out to be a good idea as the mountains were covered with mist and clouds and the view although beautiful was limited on our way out. On the way back the clouds had lifted and the view was spectacular.The trail begins through dense forest with lush ferns and moss covering the tree trunks. Wild orchids and colorful birds are plentiful. It’s uphill most of the way, crossing streams and climbing over and ducking under logs. The temperature is perfect for hiking and the sounds of the many birds and creeks are very enjoyable. After about an hour you come upon a clearing looking toward the west. When we arrived clouds were rushing up from the valley floor to meet us.The next portion of the trail is through dense forest again crossing several streams. The park has provided small bridges to make crossing the streams easy. The last part of the trail is through a lovely evergreen forest with pine trees much different and larger than those found at our campsite.We returned the way we came following the trail to the clearing and this time the clouds had lifted leaving a spectacular view of the valley floor and surrounding mountains. Two hawks were circling above, diving to the valley floor then lifting again on the air currents along the cliff edge, their screeching echoing through the canyon below.We spent a total of six hours on the trail and saw only two other people. They were Thai photographers doing a story for a nature magazine. We could have stayed longer but hunger was setting in so we returned to the restaurant at the Baan Mae Klang Bungalows.This evening was spent in our comfortable bungalow. We made reservations the day before. The bungalow has electricity and is equipped with a king size bed in the bedroom and a single bed with table and chairs on the porch. It has simple bathroom with shower and western style toilet.The next day we spent visiting the many waterfalls in the park. The first one was very close to our bungalow and actually two waterfalls named after the King and Queen and called Siriphum waterfalls. The next two waterfalls were also close together and the road getting there was a little difficult but worth the effort. We went just past the second check point at kilometer marker 38 and turned left toward Mae Chaem and traveled about 8 kilometers. Here there is a sign where you turn right and travel the dirt road for 2 kilometers to the ranger station. From there it’s a 500-meter walk to Mae Pan waterfall and 200 meters to Huai Luaeng waterfall.Forest hike at Doi Inthanon Nationap Park video
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gg_l33pe3tw?rel=0Our last stop was on the way out of the park at Mae Ya waterfall. To get there you need to go back to Cham Tong and just before you get to highway 108 you will see the sign Mae Ya waterfall. Follow the signs for about 14 kilometers from here. There will be a checkpoint where they collect a 200 baht fee to enter. Just tell them you have been staying in the park and show them the receipt and they will let you in for free. This waterfall is great for photographs and over 250 meters tall. Try to go on a weekday, as the weekends are very crowded with Thais picnicking and swimming.We had a great time although we didn’t see everything such as Brichinda cave. We would also like to spend some time bird watching. The Park staff was a great help and very friendly and I would recommend this trip to anyone.Karen hill tribe villagers geting the rice fields ready for planting video
https://www.youtube.com/embed/tX4V1LICfU0?rel=0

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All Thailand Experiences Eco-tourism Policy

“Helping those in need through tourism”

Now a days everyone is doing ecotourism tours and treks in Thailand, but what is it? Do you know the questions to ask a tour or trekking operator to find out if they are for real or just a ploy to get you to go with them?

We at All Thailand Experiences follow the four basic rules for real Ecotourism in Thailand:

  • 1. The willingness and ability to maintain or improve the environment.
  • 2. The ability and the willingness for proper control when visiting ethnic peoples and villages in such a way that they can continue to maintain their natural being, customs, traditions and lifestyle.
  • 3. The ability and willingness of the tour operator to donate some profits to the people in the villages they visit and in helping protect and improve nature and the environment.
  • 4. We also bring trees along to plant near the villages so the villagers can take care of them. This lowers your carbon foot print.
  • 5. We DO Not take clients for elephant rides, elephant nature parks or elephant shows. We take our clients to Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation who helps sick, wounded and tortured elephants.

Do you know the questions to ask a tour or trekking operator to find out if they are for real or just a ploy to get you to go with them?

First of all, most operators care only about making you happy. They will say yes to what ever you want to do. This is fine if you are doing a normal commercial tour to the handicraft factories or city tour however if you want to visit a hill tribe village or a nature area this is not acceptable. The reason is because that is what the consumer wants and the operators want to meet the needs of their clients, which might not be in the best interest for the environment or local people. This means it is up to you to be well informed about what is and what is not Eco-tourism.

Here is a list of subjects and whys that separates the Eco-culture and nature friendly tour and trekking operators from those that are not. It is then up to you to decide which companies properly adhere to the true meaning of Eco-tourism in Thailand.

Tour and Trekking operators first must meet at least the four basic standards to be called Eco tourism.

  • 1. The willingness and ability to maintain or improve the environment.

Did you know that most of the plants and animals on the endangered species list are because of destruction of habit and not poaching, hunting or gathering? There are many examples of this in north Thailand. Not so many years ago there were lots of rare species of birds along the Mae Kok, Ping, Fang and Mae Teang rivers. Now because of clear cutting of bamboo for tourist for rafting all of the large and many rare species of bamboo are now gone. This means no more places for the birds to roost or nest, insects to eat and the beautiful stands of bamboo that were once abundant along the river banks are now gone forever.

So what can you do?

Bambaoo rafting Thailand

Try to find operators that use recycled bamboo rafts when ever possible They pick them up at the take out point and bring them back to the starting point by large truck. The rafts can be used again and again for a year or so. Others just take them to the end of the rafting trip and sell them for other uses or most are disposed of along the bank to rot and they cut fresh bamboo for new ones. Finding these operators will be difficult, as many tour operators will say yes they reuse the rafts when in fact you will find out at the end of your rafting trip they do not. Better yet find an operator that use rubber boats, kayaks or canoes with out gasoline engines if possible.

Swimming at the waterfall
Swimming at the waterfall at Doi Inthanon national Park Thailand

Another major problem is water pollution. With the large numbers of travelers wanting to trek and visit hill tribe villages they are the number 1 source of water pollution in remote areas. I know of many hill tribe villagers that used to go to streams for small fish, frogs and insects to gather and eat. Because of the trekkers using soap and shampoo at waterfalls and in streams the animals that depend on clean water along with the plant life that supports them are now gone. It is a fact that the hill tribe villagers before the tourists arrived used to gather the water and wash their clothes and body away from the streams or waterfalls so as not to pollute.

Many villages now also use the streams to wash in because they know there is nothing left to gather or fish for. They don’t know why everything is gone but it was all-fine before the tourists arrived. They also figure if the well-educated, smart and rich tourists are using the water to bath why should we carry water when we can just do what they do.

Do not bath in streams or waterfalls using chemical soaps and shampoos. There are biodegradable soaps and shampoos made that do not pollute so use these products. Another thing you can do is to carry the water down hill and away from the stream at least 20 meters. The best is not to use soap or shampoo at all while in or near the stream or waterfalls. Bring along a face cloth and add a little soap to clean your body and rinse off far away from the water source.

The people who lived in the rain forest or jungle knew in the past how important their water source was. It is a tragedy that these peoples had to give this up because of tourism. There are still several villages in Thailand that are pristine and still follow these good environmental practices. Their villages are in very remote areas far away from the normal tourist crowds.

These are the two main problems with tourism and the environment in Thailand today. For sure there are many others such as waste disposal that most of us already know about.

2. The ability and the willingness for proper control when visiting ethnic peoples and villages in such a way that they can continue to maintain their natural being, customs, traditions and lifestyle.

Lisu hill tribe New Year in Thailand
Lisu Hill Tribe

These are the worst horror stories not only in Thailand but also throughout the world today. Almost all of the villages visited by tour operators today have lost everything their elders have taught them going back hundreds of years. Villagers are starving, addicted to drugs and they are selling their children to be used as prostitutes or slaves. Believe it or not the villages that accept tourists have the biggest chance of falling into this problem. Here are the ways it usually (but not always) happens.

A guide goes out looking for a new area and villages to take tourists. He (or she) meets the people in the villages and wants to bring tourists with the promise of a more prosperous life (money) than what they have now. There are no rules or guide lines set except that the villagers can sell trinkets and handicrafts (most bought and not made by them) to the tourists. The family that has guests overnight receives a small sum of money, a meal but must supply the rice (in most cases). If the villagers can supply opium for the trekkers to smoke, so much the better, as the guide will make lots of money from this. Once this starts the local drug lords will make them keep purchasing the opium.

Happy Lahu hill tribe Chindren

After a year or two here is what happens to this once beautiful village. The once shy villagers rush to meet the tourists with souvenirs for them to buy. Most of these are made in Burma and not by the villagers themselves. They will not stop bothering people until they buy something and then leave.

The children ask and beg for money. Now, the villagers are looking at the tourist as a source of income not as a visitor. Most have quit working their fields just to meet and beg and sell junk to the tourists. Most of the hill tribe villages do not own land but are given an area to plant crops. If it is not used then another village will take over the fields. This is usually a nearby village that does not accept tourists.

The guide starts dinner at the family home and gives the host family around 50 Baht for having them. It is now evening and the guide asks who wants to smoke opium. Some in the group will probably say yes. The guide then buys the opium in the village for maybe 400 baht from which can supply around 20 or more pipe loads. The guide then sells it again to the tourist for maybe 100 to 200 baht a pipe load. This is big money for the guide. Mean while the children in the village see the foreigners smoking opium and think that they do the same everyday. In their mind they think they can smoke opium, go to college and make lots of money like the tourists do.

It is now a year later and the village has no culture to speak of any more. There is no cultural interaction between the villagers and tourists as the visitors are looked upon only as a source of income. The tour operator and guides decide to now leave this village for new villages without tourists and the process starts all over again. Now this village has no more tourists. They have no place to plant crops anymore as the fields they stopped planting have been taken over by nearby villagers. This means they now have to buy food and basic necessities but have no money. Many are now addicted to opium or heroin and even sell their children to keep up the habit. This is a worst-case example but has happened and continues to happen to this day.

So what can you do?

Please be careful with trekking operators that advertise new area or village. Find out why they have to go to a new village or area. Most good Eco-culture friendly operators go to the same area and villages year after year. They have an excellent relationship with them so everything is in balance and harmony so they do not need to go to a new area.

Most hill tribe villages do not have handicrafts as they spend most of their time working in their fields. There may however be elderly women in the village taking care of young children that do make handicrafts. In this case there will be one home or area where handicrafts can be viewed and bought. No one will bother you to buy anything and you are not looked at as a major source of income.

Make sure you are not allowed to give candy to children or money for pictures. As a matter of fact nothing should be exchanged directly between you and anyone in the village. A village is a very communal place and what belongs to one belongs to all. Jealousy and hate between villagers can arise because one family or person received something from you and they didn’t. It is true that many villages that are visited by tourist drop drastically in population because of jealousy. It is the lucky ones that move away to a different village, usually that of another family member that has already moved because of marriage to a village member.

Ask how many persons are going on the trek with you and get it in writing as part of your receipt. Many people are told a small number later to find out there are up to 15 persons going on the trek. If they come to pick you up and there is more than what they wrote on your receipt when you paid for the trek get your money back. Go to the tourist police and file a complaint. If they do not give you a refund just make sure you have the number of persons in your trekking party written in your receipt. 6 persons should be the maximum and the fewer the better and a private trek is best. An eco-culture tour and trekking operator will keep the number of persons visiting a village small. The impact of even 50 visitors a month in a village is devastating and should not be allowed. Some excellent operators take visitor to village only once a week and then no more than 6 persons. They have many villages they can visit so they can take tourists daily to different villages.

3. The ability and willingness of the tour operator to donate some profits to the people in the villages they visit and in helping protect and improve nature and the environment.

There are very few tour and adventure operators in Thailand that are willing to support this belief. The ones that do started their business out of love for nature and the people and wanting to share their experiences with travelers not just for the money. They know the profits will rise once previous clients talk to their friends and others about the wonderful time they had on their holiday. This means more money for the locals and the tour operator. They must work together without exploitation.

All Thailand Experiences supports Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation

The relationship that develops between the operator, guides, local people and communities when the tour or trekking company helps them is very important. This means you as a visitor can enjoy something special and richly rewarding instead feeling like of a source of income. You can develop true friendships with the people you meet and enjoy a spectacular natural unspoiled environment. You and your guide will be well respected by everyone you come in contact with. They also know that some of the money you paid for your holiday to visit them goes to help them and the local environment. They know their customs will be respected and their culture and way of life will remain intact.

Good Eco-aware tour operator helps in many ways in Thailand. They buy books and other supplies for local schools. They pay to build schools and pay for teachers to live in the remote villages. They provide blankets and clothing yearly to families and children. They pay for doctors to visit remote villages on a regular basis and provide medicines and money for treatments if needed. Some pay local remote villagers to keep a watch out for poachers in the jungle and rain forest and report any potential problems to local authorities. They also work with local police, park rangers and forest ranges providing funds for rewards when poachers or tree cutters are caught. They pay locals to plant trees where needed and teach the people about waste disposal and hygiene. Build toilet facilities and water wells or water gathering reservoirs in small mountain canyons. They pay for pipes and plumping from the wells and reservoirs to the village. The list goes on and on but the important thing is the tour or trekking operator wants to help.

So what can you do?

Try to find such a tour or trekking operator. The most important thing is being willing to pay more for you tour or trek. The fewer people on the trek or tour the better the experience. This costs more but well worth it. Most guides that work for these Eco-culture friendly operators are very dedicated to helping people including you. They go out and visit these villages and natural areas regularly if they have people to take or not. They have extensive training about the environment, animals, birds, insects and about the local people you will see and meet. They are paid much more than the normal commercial guide and are well worth it so be willing to pay more.

Eco-tourism is not cheap so before you go out to find the best price for a trek or tour, first think about who wins and who looses on a cheap tour or trek. No one wins. Think about it.