Mae Hong Son Loop: Pai, Lod Cave & Doi Inthanon (6D5N)

Itinerary

THE ROAD TO PAI - WATERFALLS, HOT SPRINGS & MOUNTAIN SCENERY

08.00 Hrs. Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Pai Town, driving along the mountain road famed for its 762 curves. On the way, visit Mok Fah Waterfall, a scenic cascade within Doi Suthep–Doi Pui National Park.

Continue to Pai Town and stop at the World War II Memorial Bridge, built in 1942 by Japanese troops who established Pai as a strategic military base.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Depart for Tha Pai Hot Springs, where naturally heated waters reach around 80°C, and continue to Pai Canyon, known for its narrow red ridges and steep-sided valleys with 50-metre drops on either side. Transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

In the evening, enjoy free time at Pai Walking Street (18:00–22:00), featuring handicrafts, souvenirs, hill tribe products, and street food.

LOD CAVE & MAE HONG SON - CAVES & HILLTOP TEMPLES

08.00 Hrs. Check out from your hotel and depart to Santichon Village, a Chinese community that migrated from Yunnan, showcasing traditional clay houses and tea-tasting sessions.

Continue to Lod Cave, one of Thailand’s most impressive caves with colourful stalactites and stalagmites. Explore by bamboo raft through two connected caverns, one containing prehistoric deer paintings.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Depart for Mae Hong Son town and visit Wat Jong Klang and Wat Jong Kum, magnificent Burmese-style temples with wooden figurines depicting stories from the Buddha’s past incarnations.

Visit Wat Doi Kong Mu, perched on a hill west of town with two Burmese-style chedis and a panoramic view over Mae Hong Son. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

MAE HONG SON - LOCAL VILLAGES, NATURAL SPA & BAMBOO BRIDGE

08.00 Hrs. Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Baan Ruam Thai, a peaceful Shan village known as “The Small House in the Big Forest,” once managed under the Queen of Thailand’s initiative.

Continue to Baan Rak Thai Village, a Chinese Yunnan community on the Thai–Myanmar border set beside a scenic lake.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Depart for Phu Klon Country Club, well known for its natural black mud spa, one of only three such mineral mud sources in the world. Enjoy a facial mud mask and foot soak, beneficial for skin and circulation.

Visit the Bamboo Bridge of Faith and Success, believed to be the longest bamboo bridge in Thailand, built by villagers to serve the local temple and spanning rice paddies and a wide stream. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

JOURNEY TO MAE CHAEM - KHUN YUAM & MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES

08.00 Hrs. Check out from your hotel and depart to Khun Yuam Town by mountain road through picturesque scenic routes. Visit Wat Muay Tor, a magnificent Shan-style temple housing sacred Buddha statues from Myanmar and Burmese sermon halls.

Continue to the Khun Yuam World War II Museum, displaying around 1,300 items from the Japanese armies, comparable in scale to the collection at Kanchanaburi.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Depart for Mae Chaem Town (3 hours’ drive) by road along picturesque scenic routes. Visit Wat Phutthaen, built in 1868, home to an ancient teak monastery with Shan-style wall paintings and a pagoda decorated with Lanna-style zodiacs. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

DOI INTHANON - HIGHLANDS, WATERFALLS & KAREN VILLAGE

08.00 Hrs. Check out from your hotel and depart to Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand’s highest mountain, offering evergreen mountain forests, dwarf rhododendron groves, rare bird life, and impressive waterfalls. Visit the summit and walk along the Angka Nature Trail.

Continue to the Twin Royal Pagodas, built in honour of His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness the Queen of Thailand, offering marvellous views over the surrounding valley.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Begin a scenic trek downhill to a Karen Hill Tribe Village (1½–2 hours), passing rare birds, wild orchids, coffee plantations, rainforest, and Pha Dok Siew Waterfall. Enjoy a cup of Arabica coffee grown by the local Karen community. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

FAREWELL TO CHIANG MAI

Check out from your hotel and depart to Chiang Mai Airport for your flight to the next destination.