Depart the hotel at 08:30 for a one and half hour drive to Doi Inthanon National Park. Along the way get a taste of local culture and community at a market that caters more to locals than tourists thanks to it’s location outside the city. After exploring vendors selling everything from fresh produce to household wares, enjoy some shopping for fruits and snacks to enjoy during the trek.
Next stop is Doi Inthanon National Park. Home to Thailand’s highest mountain at 2,565 meters, the national park is also one of country’s most popular parks for both locals and tourists. The trek will take approximately one and half hours and will be led by a guide from one of the surrounding Karen villages. The Karen are an ethnolinguistic group who primarily live in south-eastern Myanmar and north-western Thailand. Although the Karen are often associated with the Paduang,or white Karen , this is just one sub-group of Karen. Along the trek your guide will discuss the local ecology and how the hilltribes live off the land. Along the way you’ll stop to rest and rejuvenate at a waterfall. Here you can swim (during the summer) and enjoy the fruit and snacks you purchased at the market. At the end of the trek, stop at a local coffee shop and sample some of the local organic coffee.
Lunch will be served at a restaurant near Washiratan waterfall. Afterwards, return to Chiang Mai, arriving at your hotel around 15:30.
