A great many of the tourists visiting Chiang Rai make enquiries about hilltribe trekking. They come looking for adventure and a learning experience that will lasty a life time. The experience of a trek around the northern area usually includes beautiful mountain terrain, wild and steamy jungles, clean rivers, photogenic waterfalls and unusually shaped caves. Visitors can journey to these places by foot, by horseback or on the back of an elephant. Travelling by longtail boats, motorbikes, and jeeps are becoming more and more popularas tour agencies expand their approach to tours and trekking. There are abundant routes for trekking in Chiang Rai, Each route has its own characteristic. Thus, this makes the activities and cost of each trips different from one another. Please contact TAT local office for more information.                  

Some useful advice:

1. Trekking alone is not recommended. It is much safer to go with the guide of trekking  agents.

2. Respect hilltribes’ beliefs and religious symbols and structures. Be careful about what you touch. It is better  to ask your guide about some do’s and don’ts before entering a hilltribe village.

3. Avoid trading western medicines and articles of clothing. Many of the hilltribe people are not familiar with the use westem medicines. And by trading clothing you may be adding a new element of dressing and grooming contrary to their own. If you want to give something it should be something to contribute to their welfare, (pens, paper, needles, thread, cloth and material used for various hilltribe handicrafts.)

4. Photographs should be taken in specified areas. Ask before you take a photograph of someone. Some villages do not even permit being photographed.

5. Protect yourself against the nasty little mosquitoes of Northern Thailand. Don’t rely only on the use of prophylactic drugs. In Thailand the many different strains of malaria parasites are resistant to many of the drugs on the market. You should also protect yourself by wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts and thick socks. Also use a strong brank of mosquto repellent when trekking. At night you should sleep under a mosquito net and avoid outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when the little pests are a nuisance.

6. Do not approach the elephants during hot sesson, and/or when feeding without their handlers (mahouts) present.