We pick you up at 7 AM from Chiang Mai city and drive for just under an hour to a trekking start point in Chae Son National Park. Our morning trek is mostly uphill on Fin trail. We are surrounded by dense mixed forests and enjoy the cool air as we walk higher up the mountain. It takes us two to three hours to reach the top of the trail at 1,500 metres above sea level. We are rewarded with amazing views over mountain ranges of Lampang and Chiang Mai province, and on a clear day, the view extends to encompass Chiang Rai and Lamphun provinces as well.

After the morning’s trek, it’s time to take a well-deserved break and have lunch to gather energy for the second part of the trekking tour.

After lunch, we trek mostly downhill for another two to three hours. On the way, we can spot fermented tea and coffee plantations which are cultivated by local villagers. The path leads us to Mae Kampong waterfall, a seven-tiered waterfall that falls over a limestone cliff. The stream disappears and reappears as it flows over the porous cliff. The vegetation around the waterfall is extremely dense and there are not shops or restaurants to disrupt the natural atmosphere. The only sounds come from a water bird choir. There is a pond on each level of the waterfall where schools of fish gather. At the top of the waterfall, we are once again rewarded with views over scenic mountain ranges.

From the waterfall, we go for a visit to local Thai village Ban Mae Kampong. The village is known for its warm hospitality and charm of a unique northern Thai culture and traditional customs.  Local villagers identify themselves as Khon Muang or people of the land.  This is a coffee and fermented-tea producing community with most of the villagers working in agriculture. Village also has a traditional music group, herbal medicine healers, traditional masseuses, bamboo weavers, and black-smiths. The village is most renowned for ecotourism and environmental conservation practices that all residents uphold.

We leave the village and head to Chiang Mai but make one last stop at Sankhampaeng Hot Springs on the way.

This is an area of sulphurous pools emitting waters at temperatures over 70 °C from nine boreholes. The heat of the water tends to raise a fog and a smell of sulphur lingers in the air lending the area an otherworldly character. There are several private bathhouses and a common pool where we can take a bath and test the belief that natural hot-spring water encourages a healthy blood flow. A popular activity for locals is to boil eggs in the hot water and we can also boil some for dinner.

We return from trekking tour in Chae Son National Park late in the late afternoon filled with wonderful memories of spectacular sights that Chae Son National Park has to offer.