From Chiang Mai: Elephant Sanctuary and Doi Inthanon National Park Hike

Your experience

Explore an ethical elephant sanctuary and Doi Inthanon on a full-day guided trip with hiking, a waterfall stop, and a coffee farm visit.

Getting started

Begin your full-day guided trip with round-trip transfers from Chiang Mai town to the first stop on your itinerary. After you meet your expert guide and join your group, you travel out of the city toward the elephant sanctuary. Travel insurance is included for this experience, so you can focus on the day ahead.

What to expect

Elephant sanctuary

This first stop focuses on an ethical elephant encounter in a dedicated sanctuary. You learn how the center approaches elephant care while spending unhurried time with the animals.

Features

• Learn about elephant care policies as your professional guide and sanctuary staff explain how the elephants are looked after and why certain practices are followed.
• Feed and play with the elephants, then walk alongside them down to the river and observe how they behave in a more natural setting.
• The elephant visit is part of a full-day guided trip, with lunch and drinking water provided later in the itinerary so you do not need to bring your own meal.

Doi Inthanon National Park

Next, your guide takes you into Doi Inthanon National Park, often called the Roof of Thailand. Here, you explore some of its most noted viewpoints and landscaped areas.

Features

• Visit the twin pagodas that sit on the slopes of Doi Inthanon and spend time in a local botanic garden, taking in the cooler mountain climate and planted displays.
• National park entrance fees are included in your booking, so you can move between Doi Inthanon’s viewpoints and gardens without handling tickets on the day.
• Throughout your time in the park, an expert guide is on hand to manage timing, explain the route, and coordinate the group within this protected area.

Pha Dok Siew nature hike

Your day continues with the Pha Dok Siew trail, an immersive hike through varied landscapes. This section of the trip focuses on spending time on foot in the park’s natural environment.

Features

• Take an approximately 2-hour nature hike on the Pha Dok Siew trail, passing wildlife, dense plants, and views of layered rice terrace scenery.
• Your guide leads the way on the Pha Dok Siew trail, setting the pace on uneven sections and helping you notice details in the surrounding forest and fields.
• Drinking water is included during the full-day tour, so you can stay hydrated on the hike without needing to purchase extra bottles.

Waterfall

After the hike, you reach a multi-tiered waterfall inside Doi Inthanon National Park. This stop gives you time to rest near the water and enjoy the sound and movement of the falls.

Features

• Spend time at a multi-tiered waterfall, where you can watch the water cascade over several levels and take in the cooler air around the pool and rocks.
• The waterfall visit forms part of the same full-day guided itinerary, with logistics, timing, and national park access handled for you in advance.
• Lunch is included as part of the day trip and is scheduled so that you refuel between active sections such as the Pha Dok Siew hike and time at the waterfall.

Karen hill-tribe coffee farm

To round out the day, you visit a Karen hill-tribe coffee farm. This final stop connects the mountain landscape with the people who live and work there.

Features

• Visit a Karen hill-tribe coffee farm and see how coffee cultivation fits into the surrounding rice terraces and forested hillsides.
• This coffee farm stop is included in the full-day guided trip, with round-trip transfers ensuring you return to Chiang Mai town without needing to arrange your own transport.
• Travel insurance is included for the entire itinerary, covering all segments from the elephant sanctuary and Doi Inthanon to Pha Dok Siew, the waterfall, and the coffee farm.