top of page
lachy-spratt-_N8_eJqHKu4-unsplash.jpg

Chiang Rai - Mae Chan -
Thathorn - fang
-
3 nights

FIT09

A message from our Travel Expert

A tour to meet the mountain minorities living on the borders of the kingdom, close to the Burmese border. An immersion in the culture of tribes and communities that have preserved their traditions, habits and customs, far away from our civilization.

stil-TVllFyGaLEA-unsplash.jpg

Highlights

  • Visit the white temple "Wat Rong Khun" with its unique architecture.

  • Visit Wat Phra Keo, where the Emerald Buddha was hidden for a long time.

  • Stop at Wat Jet Yot, whose gilded facade is guarded by two enormous dragons.

  • Embark for a trip up the Mekong River to the Golden Triangle. 

  • Visit of the Hall of Opium, and the history of opium production

  • Visit Mae Sai

  • Drive to Mae Salong and visit a tea plantation.

  • You will also discover villages of Yao and Akkha ethnic groups, and a Chinese village of Kuomintang.

  • Visit Baan Huay I Ko, Akha village, to see women wear unique hairstyles embellished with feathers, skins, shells and silver coins. 

  • Visit Baan Pang Hor, village of the Palong tribe, originally from Burma, one of the tribes whose costumes are among the most exceptional. 

  • Walk in the caves of Tham Chiang Dao and their remarkable network of underground galleries.

Day 1: CHIANG RAI (-/-/-)

English-speaking guide and a private vehicle

​

•    2:00 pm Departure for a tour of the city's temples.   


Upon arrival, collect your luggage and exit the airport to meet your guide. Transfer to your hotel for check-in. Lunch at leisure. 


After lunch, you will begin your discovery of Chiang Rai, a city founded by King Mangrai in 1262 and which has long remained under Burmese influence. You will begin your afternoon by visiting the white temple, Wat Rong Khun, which stands out from the traditional Buddhist temples by its architecture.

 

Then you will visit Wat Phra Keo, where in 1432 an Emerald Buddha was discovered in this temple, during an earthquake, which broke the Chedi in which it was hidden. Later in the afternoon you will have the chance to stroll in a local market, in which you can find everything including: spices, clothes, local and exotic food.

 

There will be a last stop to visit Wat Jet Yot, the seven-spired Chedi (stupa), whose gilded facade is guarded by two enormous dragons before returning to your hotel. Rest of evening at leisure. Meals at leisure and overnight at the hotel.
 

Day 2: CHIANG RAI – THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE – MAE CHAN (Breakfast/-/-)

English-speaking guide and a private vehicle

​

•    8:00 am Departure to the pier 
•    9:00 am Start of the visit
•    10:30 am Visit of the Museum 
•    12:30 pm Lunch at leisure at the restaurant La Vallée
•    2:30 pm Departure for the Mae Sai border (Thailand-Burma)
•    4:45 pm Ascension of Wat Phra That Doi Wao
•    6:30 pm Return to the hotel and dinner at leisure

​

Today you will departure from your hotel to the pier. Here you will embark on a boat ride to the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle, where the borders of the three countries - Thailand, Laos and Burma - meet, were once one of the hot spots of the opium trade. Poppy cultivation has completely disappeared from Thailand thanks to alternative crops. However, it is still active in neighboring countries. After the boat ride you will visit the Hall of Opium, an exciting museum that will allow you to better understand the production and trade of poppy and opium in this region. 


Lunch will be at leisure at the restaurant "La Vallée" which you will reach by I-Than (a traditional Thai truck - a 20-minute drive through the fields). After lunch you will depart to a province called Mae Sai, located in the northernmost town of the country, on the Burmese border, many minorities meet in a lively and colorful local market. 


Here you will ascent to reach Wat Phra That Doi Wao, from where one enjoys a breathtaking view of the two countries. After you will return to your hotel where you will have the rest of the evening at leisure. 
 

Day 3: MAE CHAN - FANG (Breakfast/-/-)

English-speaking guide and a private vehicle

​

•    8:00 am Departure from the hotel  
•    8:30 am Arrival at the monks' temple and visit of the museum dedicated to Khun Sa, famous opium trafficker.
•    11:00 am Visit to a tea plantation in Mae Salong 
•    12:30 pm Lunch at leisure
•    3:00 pm Wat Tha Ton
•    5:00 pm Arrival at your hotel

​

Departure from your hotel to visit The Wat Pa Acha Tong, this little known temple, completely isolated in the mountains, has the particularity of being the only one in the kingdom where monks have to go on horseback to neighboring villages to receive their morning alms. Thai people call this temple the "temple of monks on horseback". 


Direction the museum which was formerly the Thai base of Khun Sa, fearsome warlord and one of the most important opium traffickers of the century. Khun Sa, whose head had been put at a price by the CIA, used in particular the ethnic minorities (Shan, Karen, Mon...) in his narcotic activities to whom he bought the opium cultivated in the mountains to sell it then in Thailand and the United States.


This true "Asian Don Corleone" was nevertheless admired by the villagers because of his opposition to the Burmese regime and (it is said) of his generosity towards the population. His name still inspires respect, both here and across the border.

​

The next stop will be to Mae Salong, to visits a tea plantation. This region of Thailand is a great producer of tea and the plantations have shaped very beautiful landscapes. Lunch at leisure. You will have the chance for some culture encounters in the villages of the Yao and Akkha ethnic groups to meet their inhabitants, before reaching Mae Salong, a village where Kuomintang soldiers fleeing the advance of Mao in the late 50s settled. Although the Thai government quickly granted them Thai citizenship, the community members retain many of the customs of their origin as well as their language, Yunnan’s. Before arriving at your hotel you will have a short stop at Thaton temple. Check-in to your hotel and rest of evening at leisure.
 

Day 4: FANG – CHIANG MAI (Breakfast/-/-)

English-speaking guide and private vehicle

​

•    8:00 am Departure from the hotel  
•    9:30 am Visits to Akha and Palong villages
•    11:00 am Walk in the caves of Tham Chiang Dao 
•    12:30 pm Lunch at leisure
•    3:00 pm Arrival at your hotel in Chiang Mai
•    Free time

​

This morning, departure from your hotel to Chiang Dao and to Baan Huay I Ko, to visit an Akha village, whose women wear unique hairstyles embellished with feathers, skins, shells and silver coins. You will then continue to Baan Pang Hor, another village but of the Palong tribe, originally from Myanmar, one of the tribes whose costumes are among the most exceptional. Then just before lunch you will walk in the caves of Tham Chiang Dao and explore its remarkable network of underground galleries, where Shan pilgrims have left numerous statues of Buddha over the years. Lunch at leisure before heading back to Chiang Mai. Rest of afternoon and evening at leisure.
 

Included

  • During the tour, private air-conditioned vehicle (except boats – Local taxi - etc)

  • Accommodation in double rooms in the indicated hotels.

  • The meals specified in the program

  • Your local English speaking guide according to your program.

  • Visits mentioned in the program and entrance fees to tourist sites and national parks.

  • Hotel taxes and service

  • Our 24-hour English-speaking hotline in case of emergency during your trip

Not included

  • Visa fees (If necessary)

  • Beverages and personal expenses

  • International flights

  • Domestic flights

  • Regional flights

  • The tips for the guides are about 5 USD per night per person.

  • Repatriation and Health Insurance

annie-spratt-qyAka7W5uMY-unsplash (1).jpg

Interested?

or

bottom of page