Bangkok / Package Tours

Mystical Hill Tribe Adventure

Tour Code : GE09N-MHT

Tour Duration : 10 Day 9 Night

Live the life of a Thai hill tribe villager on this expedition into the mountains. Meet the locals, watch their daily tasks of rice pounding and hunting, cook with forest ingredients hand-picked by yourself, and wake up to the sounds of birds calling. With no modernization in sight, this is the perfect back-to-nature escape if you want to get as far away from computers and beeping phones as possible.

Combine jungle living with world-class ancient ruins, exquisite gold temples and Buddhas made from gemstones, and you get a mystical experience like no other.

DAY 01 Bangkok

On arrival at Bangkok airport you’ll be collected and driven to your hotel.

DAY 02 Ayutthaya (B)

After breakfast you’ll travel to Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya, filled with golden temples, lakeside palaces and the extensive ruins of World Heritage sites. Here, discover the crumbling stone Khmer temples of Lopburi including the three-domed Phra Prang Sam Yot. Once you’ve had your fill of history and power (if that’s possible), head back to Bangkok for the night.

DAY 03 The Floating Market (B)

This morning you’ll cross the city to see the most photographed floating market in Ratchaburi, Bangkok’s floating market scene. Forget shopping in stores with tourists: this is the real deal. Watch market traders buy and sell huge bunches of bananas, other fruit, vegetables and much more, all while effortlessly floating on wooden long tail boats.

After lunch, take a stroll though the botanical gardens. From exotic plants you have never seen before, to stunning roses, this impressive garden is truly unique.

DAY 04 The Grand Palace (B)

Witness one of Thailand’s most revered statues today: the Emerald Buddha. Smaller than you may imagine, but hugely important to Buddhists, it sits inside the Wat Phra Kaeo within the Grand Palace. Don’t miss the glorious Golden Buddha while you’re there, and treat yourself to a world famous traditional Thai massage at Wat Pho.

DAY 05 Chiang Mai (B/D)

This morning you’ll fly to the walled city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

Settle into your hotel and head off to learn the legends of elephants and snakes which are told at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai’s most famous temple.

Next, meet some local villagers and wander around the handicraft village, where skills handed down from generation to generation produce traditional handicrafts. For dinner, tuck into a Traditional Khantoke meal, accompanied by northern Thai dancing.

DAY 06 Chiang Mai – Wat Chan (B/L/D)

Today you’ll delve deep into the pristine pine forests north of Chiang Mai to meet the Karen Hill Tribe people. Settle into your private log chalet at the Karen Hill Tribe lodge, and explore your surroundings which are untouched by modern times. Just mountains, forests streams and birds: not a road, electricity pylon or building in sight.

Spend the afternoon walking around the local rice fields, hills and rivers and go for a cooling swim in the crystal clear mountain water at the riverside beach.

As the sun sets, you’ll be treated to a buffet dinner at the lodge, and a fascinating cultural show performed by local tribes, with locally-made instruments and lively dances. Once you have learnt about the hill tribe lifestyle through this show, chat around the camp fire under the star-lit sky until bed.

DAY 07 Hilltribe Mountain Lodge Wat Chan (B/L/D)

You’ll wake up with the birds this morning as they make their cries: think of it as nature’s alarm clock. After an early breakfast it’s time for your first trek. During these three hours in the forest your guide will point out plants, animals, birds, and edible fruit as well as medicinal herbs.

A jungle picnic awaits you at the camp, served on palm leaves. Meet the elephants here and clamber aboard for an afternoon ride through the jungle and along meandering streams, until you reach the Karen Hilltribe village Baan Houy Ya-Tai: your home for the night.

Your host family will provide you with a locally-grown meal before showing you your hill house for the night. A bedroom with mattress and mosquito netting may be provided, but this is still the simple life.

DAY 08 Hilltribe Mountain Lodge Wat Chan (B/L/D)

This morning, your trek continues to another Karen village, where you’ll be welcomed with a spectacular Karen ceremony. Spend the morning observing the traditional daily activities here, such as rice pounding and weaving, and join in if you want. Scarf weaving, anyone?

A truck will collect you to journey yet further into the jungle for to visit a different tribe: the colorful Lisu people. Watch their daily life, before visiting the Royal Project: a huge cultivation project of indigenous and non-indigenous plants. The coffee here is gorgeous – go on, try some with your lunch.

Back at the lodge this afternoon why not try some Thai cooking? Using local vegetables, the villagers will demonstrate how to cook mushroom noodles or chicken coconut soup. You’d better pay attention: this will be tonight’s dinner.

DAY 09 Hilltribe Mountain Lodge Wat Chan – Chiang Mai (B)

There’s nothing better than a relaxing breakfast surrounded by jungle. Wake up with the birds (or later if you wish) and enjoy a hearty lodge meal before waving goodbye to the locally-built lodge and heading to Houy Nam Duang National Park for Thailand’s largest geyser Pong Duat. Hot steam gushes from the ground here to heights of up to 4 meters: a powerful force of nature.

And from hot steam to a cooling dip, your final stop will be Mok Fha waterfall where you can relax or swim in heart of the forest. Finally, you’ll be returned back to Chiang Mai, refreshed and revitalized this evening.