There’s a long and exciting day ahead of us so we have an early start and pick you up at 7 AM in Chiang Mai. It takes us a bit over two hours to reach Mae Ya waterfall but we are generously rewarded for the long drive. Ma Ya waterfall is the biggest waterfall in Doi Inthanon National Park and falls in a series of cascades down towards the pool.

From Mae Ya waterfall, we drive off-road for about two hours and see authentic Karen and Hmong villages along the way. We reach the park’s headquarters in time for an early lunch and enjoy a delicious Thai meal at a local restaurant.

After lunch, we drive to Mae Pan waterfall which in contrast to Mae Ya waterfall falls straight for about 100 metres and is the longest waterfall in Chiang Mai area.

Our next stop is a wonderfully scenic Karen tribe village Pa Bong Piang where we go on a hike over rice paddies and soak in the amazing views around us. Pa Bong Piang is a small and charming village, a home of Pakakayo people, surrounded by a lush scenery of terraced paddy fields that gently slope to the valley with a mountain range in the backdrop. These are one of the most known terraced rice fields in Thailand. Have a look at this video to get a feel for what to expect in Pa Bong Piang.

Pa Bong Piang is the westernmost point of our JEEP tour and from here, we start driving back to Chiang Mai but still have plenty to see along the way. Our first stop en route is Pha Mon Karen tribe village. Pha Mon village is home to an ethnic Karen community of under 600 inhabitants who have jointly developed sustainable tourism in the village. We can witness more stunning views over terraced rice paddies filling up the whole valley below us.

From Pha Mon, we drive off-road to Khun Puay Karen village and take a bit of a break here. This small village is situated at the foothills of the mountain ranges that form the backbone of Doi Inthanon National Park. After Khun Puay village, we drive for about one hour off-road and downhill until we reach Mae Wang valley where we follow the river to the main road to Chiang Mai. We return to Chiang Mai quite late in the afternoon.