Green Trails

21/10/2024

Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand are back in business! Read our update on the flood situation.

Typhoon Yagi makes landfall in VietnamThis update about Chiang Mai Floods aims to inform you about the current situation in North Thailand and Chiang Mai

09/10/2024

Floodwaters from the Ping River inundated parts of the City of Chiang Mai and the surrounding countryside. The level of the Ping River is now back to normal and people are working very hard to clean the streets of the city. The floods didn’t reach the old walled city and the western part of Chiang Mai. The damage to property and livelihoods is substantial though. Chiang Mai has been hit hard, just like Chiang Rai, Mae Rai, Phayao, Phrae and other provinces in the north earlier. We are in the last weeks of the monsoon aka rainy season and are optimistic there will be no flooding anymore. Please come and visit the North of Thailand!
I took these photos earlier today.

28/08/2024

Our team made two trips this week to communities in Phrae province that are affected by the floods. We donated supplies to help the local people in these difficult times. We are proud of our team! Let’s hope the situation improves very soon.

25/07/2024

The Sydney Australia office of the Tourist Authority of Thailand recommends our Doi Inthanon tours! 😀

Writer John Borthwick discovers that Chiang Mai is far more than a “Mini-Me” Bangkok. Here are John's Top Ten Chiang Mai attractions and experiences.

10/07/2024

Here are some pictures of a research trip to the Hmong villages of Ban Mae Sa Noi and Ban Mae Sa Mai in the Mae Sa Valley. For avocado lovers, such as myself, the slopes of Doi Suthep are a paradise in this time of the year. Did you know there are worldwide more than 500 varieties of avocado that are different in size, texture, shape, and maturity rate? We found several varieties of avocado in the plantations around the Hmong villages, amongst others the famous hass avocado, the most delicious and most expensive.
By the way, avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable. During our walk, we also spotted another, bright green fruit, called chayote. In this time of the year there is so much to see there and the views are fantastic.

05/07/2024

Here are some images taken during an inspection trip to Mae Wang this morning. They show the beauty of the rainy season, aka the green season. Villagers have planted rice in the terraces and the skies are heavy with rain. It is a wonderful time of the year: fresh, lush and green.

04/06/2024

Day 2 of the Community Based Tourism Minor of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands. Today we visited the area east of the town of Chiang Dao and learnt about the ethnic diversity of this area. We spent time with the Lisu and Akha people and settled in our homestay in the Dara-ang (Palong) village Mae Chon for our research.

03/06/2024

Day 1 of the Community Based Tourism Minor of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands.
After a short introduction and briefing on the trip, it was time for a samlor trip to support the samlor (bicycle taxi) Community of Chiang Mai.

21/05/2024

Here are some images of a recent trip to Doi Angkhang. This is a favorite Green Trails route in North Thailand. First stop was the lovely Tayong noodle shop in the sprawling town Arunothai. After Arunothai, there is no public transportation anymore, so you have the road more or less for yourself.

After Doi Angkhang became part of Doi Pahompok National Park in 2019 authorities closed all accommodation in Ban Khum, the main settlement on Doi Ankhang and the site of the Angkhang Royal Agricultural Station. Since then, it has become very quiet on the mountain, but I have never seen it as quiet as it was last week. The rainy season has just started, but the views were already magnificent. Doi Angkhang has a unique atmosphere with its Yunnanese Chinese villages and spectacular landscapes. Ofcourse I visited the former army camp of the Kuomintang forces in Tham Ngob and the Dara-ang (Palong) border village of ban Nor Lae.

04/05/2024

Yesterday we prepared for the upcoming Community Based Tourism Minor of Stenden University in the Dara-ang (Palong or Palaung) village of Pang Daeng Nai. Together with the students we will develop activities for visitors that benefit the community such as making a typical Dara-ang “flag”, a bamboo construction with colorful strings. The Dara-ang people use these to decorate the local temple.

19/03/2024

Improvements at the entrance of the Monk's Trail to Wat Pha Lad!

08/03/2024

Last week I visit Ban Mae Sam Laep on the Salween (Salawin) River on the border of Thailand and Myanmar. The boat trip from Ban Mae Sam Laep to Sop Moei is one of the most scenic boat trips you can make in the North of Thailand. I have done this trip several times and look forward to do it again.

Although there is a civil war in Myanmar the border area here is very quiet. Boat services operate as normal. There is no official border crossing at Ban Mae Sam Laep but there is a boat service to the Myanmar side of the river for local people.
It was a pleasure to observe that Ban Mae Sam Laep is lively and peaceful. What a beautiful river!

26/02/2024

This is a wonderful event we are looking forward to tremendously!

11/02/2024

Great pictures of the samlor drivers of Chiang Mai!

03/02/2024

27/11/2021

This is a short video of the start of our biggest samlor tour this year. We had 18 samlors for a half-day tour for students of USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium) on September 12. What a great trip it was! 😊You can find our samlor tours on our Chiang Mai a la Carte website.

19/09/2021

Have you heard about the Hmong people of Baan Mae Sa Mai? Let us introduce them to you!

Learn about this interesting tribe in our two-day tour. We will introduce you to local students, the silversmith, and the rest of the villagers.

With your visit, you contribute positively to these minorities!

Find out more about this tour on our website.

This is a short action packed program that doesn't involve much driving. For an overview of our educational tours please have a look here.