10. Elephant Safari and Hilltribe Trekking Tour (1-Day)
This is the least physically demanding trekking program. We start from Chiang Rai by hopping into a Long-Tail boat for a one-hour ride up the Kok River to a Karen village.
On this trip, you will get to see a Karen village and see their skilled Karen Mahouts handle elephants. Among the different tribal groups, only the Karen handles elephants. where you will have lunch. Along the way, you will see how these seemingly ungainly beasts can be so agile.
Walk around the Lahu village to see how one tribal group builds their home. Do not expect to see villagers hanging around in the village because unlike you, they are not on vacation. They may not have offices, but they have fields to tend or they may be in the jungle collecting wild vegetables.
When you are done with the Lahu village, we proceed downhill on foot to a Lahu and Akha village. There is a small community-managed museum that we will be visiting.
Finally, we hop into a local taxi for the ride back to town. Along the way, we make stops at another Akha village and a Yao village. The Yao village is quite modern.
Trip Summary1
Long Tail boat ride 1 hour
Elephant ride 2 hours
Downhill trek 45 min-1hour
Return to Chiang Rai 1 hour
Note: Photos of villagers were taken during festivals. On ordinary days, villagers may be seen wearing modern clothes.
Minimum number of passengers recommended is two.
1Duration of travel are estimates. Does not include walk-about at villages.
Note: Your safety is our concern. If weather conditions make travel to certain destinations dangerous, your itinerary may be changed without prior notice.