Elephant Trek, Rafting and Hilltribe Village Tour from Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Approximately 60 Kilometers north of Chiang Mai, situated on the banks of the Ping River is Chiang Dao Elephant Camp. In an unspoiled setting, marvel at these colossal beasts of burden performing amazing feats of strength and skill, at the command of their "mahouts".

Then follow an exhilarating elephant trek through the neighboring jungle, past bamboo trees and hanging creepers, upwards towards a remote Lisu hilltribe village. The Lisu hilltribe people originated in Tibet and their villages are usually located in the mountains around 1000 metres. Local lunch is provided.

Then comes the time for your relaxing bamboo raft trip along the Ping River. After visit some unspoiled hilltribe villages in Chiang Dao, such as, Karen, and Palaung Hilltribe Villages. If time permits, you may visit some other nearby hilltribe villages like, Akha, Lahu, and Lisu. On return to Chiang Mai, the journey continues by road to an Orchid Farm at Mae Sa.

USD $93.30

Review by: Geoff	March 2012
This tour we all had a great time and guide was very informative and friendly. We even stopped off at the tiger park on the way home

Review by: gavan	January 2012
This operator does pick up and drop off. The elephant ride and rafting was great. Lunch beautiful but find another way to get there. Guide spent more time talking to guides from other companies. Tour east seem to bea viator preferred operator. We have had 3 b grade experiences

Review by: EnsykoMeeko	October 2011
Great tour with informative staff!

Review by: ATHANASIOS T	August 2011
It was a great experience.Pick up from our hotel,the guide was (at last!!!) speaking english very good,the elephant trek amazing and the rafting incredible..

Review by: Scott K	August 2011
Great trip overall, our guide, Meow was very attentive, clear spoken and always smiling.

Review by: Kathy H	July 2011
Enjoyed the elephant trek and rafting. The hilltribe visit to the Lisu tribe could have been made more interesting if we were told of their culture and living style, rather than just a walkthru of the selling stations. We were also expecting visits to the other tribes listed in the itinerary, but our guide didn't take us to any, and the 9 hour tour was only 6 hours, so we felt shortchanged about this. Our guide was humorous, though, we enjoyed him, but would have liked to see the other tribes that were supposed to be included in the trip. He told us initially that we could do other things if time allowed. Then he told us if we went to the tiger kingdom, we would have to pay 500 baht ourselves, when we were already shortchanged by not seeing the other hilltribes that were paid for in advance in this tour. If he wasn't going to take us to the other tribes, then the tiger kingdom fee should have been included in the tour.

Review by: Scott B	July 2011
This was a fantastic day tour from Chiang Mai that was well organised and gave a good blend of different activities. Our guide also knew exactly where to sit during the elephant shows. Our family loved this tour

Review by: Andrew D	April 2011
Loved the elephant training center tour and show. It was both informative and entertaining. However the hill tribe village was hardly a "tour". We were dropped off in the middle of the forest. Nothing was explained to us, nobody spoke English, and we were left to wander through while the locals tried to sell the same tourist crap that you can get anywhere. Additionally, throughout the tour, our tour guide acted like a disgruntled chaperone shuttling us around. The same tour is available as a private tour for almost half the price from other agencies.

Review by: Tom C	March 2011
Piew was our group tour guide for this tour, and he was excellent. We first visited an orchid farm which was really interesting to see. Next we went on to the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp which was such an amazing experience. The camp seemed to take very good care of the elephants and was much less commercial than many of the other elephant camps in the area. We watched a show by the elephants with demonstrations and elephant painting, and then took a long jungle trek through the jungle riding the elephant. After returning, we took a bamboo raft ride down the Ping River which was so relaxing. Great experience overall.

Review by: Susan N	August 2010
What a fantastic experience all round. We thoroughly enjoyed the elephant show, trekking through the lush green countryside on our elephant and experiencing the hill tribe village. The lunch was beautiful and plentyful though we did have to pay for our own water and the rafting peaceful and serene. All in all a memorable day!

Review by: Helene A, Australia	May 2010
Fantastic day out. Rafting was peaceful and provided an opportunity to sit back and really take in the surroundings. The elephants were beautiful and the ride was well worthwhile through the jungle. Not just a 15 minute treck - more like 1 1/2 hours! The Hilltribe experience was disappointing, really just a few stalls selling their wares and no real opportunity to see what life is like for them in their villages. All in all though a fantastic day!

Review by: Kevin D, Australia	April 2010
Watching the elephants working and performing was a highlight of my trip. The elephant ride though the bush and the rafting were both serene and relaxing.

Review by: Elena Z, United States of America	March 2010
We wanted the tour guide to give us more information about the country, history, society and so on. Did not receive much of it and mostly had to ask all kind of questions instead of being presented with information.

Review by: Mark G, United States of America	November 2009
We were picked up at the hotel in Chiang Mai promptly and taken to a beautiful orchid farm and to the Chiang Dao elephant camp north of Chiang Mai for a trek atop an elephant, a visit to a Karen village, lunch and a rafting trip down the Mae Ping. Our guide was very friendly and familiar with the area and even knew the elephant names in the camp. The guide and the driver even stopped along the way to satisfy our craving for local desserts in the market.

Review by: Elmarie D, South Africa	August 2009
What an awesome excursion to have! We had an absolute fantastic day trip. The elephant trekking was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Although it was drizzling, the bamboo rafting was a peaceful and enjoyable ride down the river. We looked like real Thais with the straw hats similar to the picture. Our lunch was a real treat with delicious and tasty Thai food. The visits to the different Hill tribes were fascinating and really an eye opener for us to see how these people are living far away from civilization. We were a small group of only four people which meant that we were never rushed and have more than enough time to enjoy everything. A must do when visiting Chiang Mai. A real Thai experience. Thumbs up for this outing!

Review by: Elmarie Magda D	August 2009
What an awesome excursion to have! We had an absolute fantastic day trip. The elephant trekking was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Although it was drizzling, the bamboo rafting was a peaceful and enjoyable ride down the river. We looked like real Thais with the straw hats similar to the picture. Our lunch was a real treat with delicious and tasty Thai food. The visits to the different Hill tribes were fascinating and really an eye opener for us to see how these people are living far away from civilization. We were a small group of only four people which meant that we were never rushed and have more than enough time to enjoy everything. A must do when visiting Chiang Mai. A real Thai experience. Thumbs up for this outing!

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	December 2008
Painting elephant was fantastic and elephant show very good. The elephant ride was an experience.

Review by: Chris B, United Kingdom	September 2008
Awesome day trip. I created a montage of our trip, please check out the _a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZoppZgFcRg"_link_/a_. As well as the elephant trekking and bamboo rafting, we also went to see the hill tribes on this trip and were invited into their hut (home) for a chat, a humbling experience. Unfortunately I did not film our time with the hill tribes. Anyway, hope you enjoy the video of the elephant camp. I very highly recommend this trip.

Review by: Anonymous	September 2008
Awesome day trip. I created a montage of our trip, please check out the _a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZoppZgFcRg"_link_/a_. As well as the elephant trekking and bamboo rafting, we also went to see the hill tribes on this trip and were invited into their hut (home) for a chat, a humbling experience. Unfortunately I did not film our time with the hill tribes. Anyway, hope you enjoy the video of the elephant camp. I very highly recommend this trip.

Review by: Carolyn G, United States of America	August 2008
Great trip, loved the elephant trek and bamboo rafting. Easy too, took my 14 year old daughter and 71 year old mom. Great English speaking guide. Lunch at the elephant camp was excellent.

Review by: Hyunhee C, South Korea	August 2008
In here there are two types of the trip covering elephant trek, rafting and hilltrive. I was wondered what will be the difference when I booked. However, I chose the more expensive one expecting better quality. But I would like to recommend to buy the cheaper one since there are no difference in major activities. In this program, local company said that we can go to monkey training camp or long-neck hill tribe after the rafting. Of course we can go to the hilltribe but that hilltribe is the same hilltribe we have visited with the elephant riding. In that case, no difference. So, we wanted to go to the other hilltribe or something else. Then we had to pay extra money. So we ended up finished early.

Review by: Matthew W, United States of America	July 2008
We absolutely love the elephant trekking and rafting but opted to skip the hill tribe villages later in the afternoon. It was too much for one day.

Review by: Constance M	July 2008
We absolutely love the elephant trekking and rafting but opted to skip the hill tribe villages later in the afternoon. It was too much for one day.

Review by: Lyn S, United States of America	November 2007
Experience was very personal, informative, comfortable, exciting and engaging, from start to finish. Our guide spoke wonderful English and expended great effort in educating us about the area and culture. Jungle trek was awesome as was the raft down the river. A truly wonderful day!

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	March 2007
Elephants and trainers are amazing. Lisu tribe and children charming. Lunch was terrific.