Hiking around Chiang Mai

Posted by Northerner on October 30th, 2009 filed in Adventure, Attractions, Day trips, Living here, Locals, tourist tips

One of the things I really like about Chiang Mai is that in just a few minutes drive from the city, you are out in the countryside. I love to go hiking and Chiang Mai is great for that, you have the mountains, parks, waterfalls, caves, and hill tribe villages, there is so much to explore.

When I first came up here, I noticed most of the travel agents were offering one day hiking trips but on closer inspection, it’s only a 30 minute hike, the rest of the day is taken up with bamboo rafting and elephant riding. Now don’t get me wrong, if you haven’t done these before, it’s great fun but it’s not hiking, is it really? 

Anyway I don’t like to hike alone, partly because I have a dreadful sense of direction and may never be seen again and hey who would feed the cat? And I don’t really see why I should pay to go for a walk. 

But I have discovered there’s a motley crew of hikers who meet every Sunday morning at 8am (yeah I know it’s early, but exercise is a great way to rid yourself of that hangover-honest!) at the Arboretum, near Chiang Mai University. Every week, they head off in a different direction, sometimes up Doi Pui, maybe take the old Pilgrim Trail up to Doi Suthep, find a secluded waterfall or venture into hill tribe villages that haven’t been ruined by tourism yet. Some weeks we just get completely and utterly lost; guess I’m not the only one with a lousy sense of direction.

All are welcome to come along, they are a friendly bunch, they must be if they can put up with me moaning and whinging every time we hike up a hill. Many of the hikers are ex-pats but tourists, travellers, backpackers are more than welcome. And if you are planning to move up to Chiang Mai, it’s a great way to pick up tips. 

So next time, you feel the urge to do some exercise, come along. Ok I admit, the average age of the group can be rather high on occasion but don’t let that put you off, if I can still run up hills when I’m old and grey, I will be delighted because I certainly have a lot of trouble doing it now.  

For more info on local hikes, take a look at http://chiangmaihiking.wordpress.com