- Full day
- Flexible, you choose
- Light walking
Doi Suthep Temples & Craft Villages
A forest temple on the side of Doi Suthep, the golden temple above the city, the umbrella makers of Bo Sang, and a hot spring to finish.
Price on request
Mae Kampong Village, Hot Springs & Muang On Cave
A mountain village of wooden houses east of Chiang Mai, a soak at San Kamphaeng hot springs, and a limestone cave with a reclining Buddha.
- Duration
- About 7 to 8 hours
- Pickup
- 9:00
- Back
- around 16:00 to 17:00
- Walking
- Light
- Group
- 2 to 9 people
Mae Kampong is the village I take guests to when they ask to see how people live in the hills. It is a real village, not a show. People grow coffee and tea, run small restaurants out of their front rooms, and rent rooms to visitors who want to sleep somewhere cool.
The cave and the hot springs are on the road back, so the afternoon is easy and you are home before dark.
Highlights
- Mae Kampong, a village at 1,300 metres where the houses stand on stilts over a stream
- Coffee grown and roasted in the village, and tea leaves fermented the old way
- The waterfall and the temple at the top of the village
- San Kamphaeng hot springs, with eggs boiled in the spring water
- Muang On cave, a limestone cave with a long staircase down to a reclining Buddha
The day
A typical day. We can move, skip or add stops.
9:00
Pickup at your hotel
We drive east through San Kamphaeng and up into the hills. Mae Kampong is about 50 kilometres from the city and the last part of the road is steep and winding.
Mae Kampong village
The village is built along a stream, with wooden houses on both banks and a small temple at the top. We walk up through the village, past the coffee shops and the houses where they still ferment tea leaves for chewing, to the waterfall.
Lunch in the village
Lunch at one of the village restaurants. The northern sausage and the coffee are both made here.
Muang On cave
On the way back down we stop at Muang On. A staircase leads down into a large limestone chamber with stalactites and a reclining Buddha. It is cool inside and the steps are steep, so take your time.
San Kamphaeng hot springs
A park around natural hot springs. You can boil eggs in the spring water, sit with your feet in the warm stream, or rent a private bath for half an hour.
16:00
Back at your hotel
I drop you at your hotel between four and five.
Along the way
Included
- Private air-conditioned van with me as your driver
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Chiang Mai
- Fuel, tolls and parking
- Bottled water
Not included
- Entrance fees at the cave and the hot springs
- Lunch and coffee
Bring
- Shoes with grip for the village paths and the cave steps
- Swimwear and a towel if you want to bathe at the hot springs
- A light jacket, the village is cooler than the city
Good to know
Mae Kampong is popular with Thai visitors at weekends. On a weekday it is quiet.
If you would like to stay overnight, the village has homestays and I can arrange the pickup for the next day.
Other days out
- About 7 to 8 hours
- pickup 9:00
- Light walking
Pha Chor Canyon, Bamboo Rafting & Wat Doi Kham
A canyon of eroded rock pillars south of the city, a bamboo raft on the Mae Wang river, a café by the fish ponds, and a hilltop temple on the way home.
Price on request
- About 7 hours
- pickup 9:00
- Light walking
Mae Rim Valley — Botanic Garden & Mae Sa Waterfall
An easy day in the Mae Sa valley north of the city, with the glasshouses and canopy walk of the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, the ten tiers of Mae Sa waterfall, and an orchid farm on the way back.
Price on request