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The Forests of the Tea Growers
2 Day /1 Night at Pang Soong Lodge
Page content under revision. If you have an urgent enquiry for this programme please contact us on info@track-of-the-tiger.com
PSL 006
This is the trip for people looking to spend some time exercising and relaxing in a beautiful natural setting while learning about the ecology of the forest. Spend 2 days trekking the mountain trails of a highland semi-evergreen temperate forest that has been preserved through time by the Cha Miang tea-growing village of Ban Mae Lai. On Day 1, spend the day walking in the forest and learning about the plants and ecology of the area. On day 2, enjoy a drive through the mountains forming the border between Chiang Mai and Lampang Provinces.
Day 1
The Trail of Never-ending Waterfalls: 1 Day Nature Trek
This trail allows unhindered access to the most beautiful parts of the Ban Mae Lai community forest. The all-weather trail follows Houay Hawm, a tributary stream to the Mae Lai River, up through several levels of waterfalls. Along the trail you will see wild tea and Arabica coffee plantations. Your guide will introduce you to the different trees and plant species and explain to you how the villagers use them. You may see first hand villagers harvesting any of the myriad different forest products.
You will be met at your hotel in the morning by an English speaking guide and a mini-bus. Drive for 45- 50 minutes northeast of Chiang Mai through the plains and then up through winding mountain roads of Huay Kaew Subdistrict to Ban Mae Lai and Pang Soong Lodge.
At Pang Soong Lodge you will be met by your Khon Muang community forest guide. After a brief introduction to the Pang Song Lodge and its activities, the nature trail begins with a visit to the spirit shrine and sacred fig tree to learn a bit about the villager’s spirituality regarding nature and the forest.
Trekking along the stream you pass through wild tea, Arabica coffee plantations, visit the 3-in-1 tree and learn about traditional bee keeping, passing by several smaller waterfalls before coming to the first large waterfall and a nearby tangle of woody vines. Continuing up the trail you will pass through stands of bamboo, learning about the countless uses of this wonder of nature. You will visit a spring and learn about traditional uses of water power, pick and taste various herbs and spices found in the forest before you arrive at the last large water waterfall. Here, admire two very different manifestations of strangler fig while you enjoy your lunch of traditional Northern Thai food. Note how the village guide makes a small offering to the local forest spirit before eating.
After lunch you will return the same way with the possibility of a side trip or two into the forest and an opportunity to splash in any one of the seven water falls along the way. If you need a little pick-me-up your guide will offer you some of the village’s chewing tea for your enjoyment.
Reaching the Pang Soong Lodge, you will meander among some old orchards learning about some of the different fruits grown in the area as well as learning about rattan and other forest products. Spend a few moments with your village guide collecting herbs and vegetables for the evening’s dinner.
The trip winds down with a visit to the village to learn a bit more about the people who have taken such good care of the forest over the centuries. You will have a chance to see how wild tea is processed, pickled and made into chewing tea.
Returning from the village you’ll have some free time to settle and relax at Tharnthong Lodge where the Mae Lai River runs through its well kept gardens.
Day 2
The Piney Knoll Trail – Moderate Excursion Trek
After breakfast depart from Tharnthong Lodge around 9 AM. Climb up from Mae Lai Stream, following the old horse caravan trail to Lampang. At the top of the ridge enjoy views of Doi Lohn and the Chiang Mai valley. Trek along the ridge before descending back to the valley bottom along a different caravan trail. As you traverse a diverse range of habitat from wet stream-side forest to dry pine forest on the ridge, learn about the different flora and how the villagers live in and use the plants in the forest.
Start climbing up the ridge from Pang Soong Lodge by going through old fruit orchards. Along the trail you will see newly planted rattan, the beginnings of efforts to reintroduce rattan in the forest. As you are ascending to the ridge top you will notice that the trail can be quite wide and others deeply rutted. You are walking on what remains of a 19th century horse caravan trail. Your village guide will tell you tales of transporting their chewing tea to markets in Lampang Province. Reaching the ridge top will find you wandering through a pine forest. Notice how the villagers keep the trees alive while harvesting the resin to kindle cooking fires and how they cut the bark from the “Aspirin Tree”. On Piney Knoll enjoy a picnic lunch of local food amidst a panorama of forested mountains dominated by Doi Lohn to the south.
Just as you start down your guide will show you a very rare and endangered species of Chestnut (Trigonobalanus doichangensis) which has only ever been recorded at 2 – 3 other sites in Thailand. From this point the trail descends to the bank of the Mae Lai Stream where you will meet the old pack trail to the old mine. If you need a little pick-me-up your guide will offer you some of the village’s chewing tea for your enjoyment. For the remainder of the hike the trail will follow the stream through wet highland riverine forest. Reaching the end of the trip you will walk through chewing tea and Arabica coffee plantations arriving back at the Pang Soong Lodge.
The trip winds down with a visit to the village to learn a bit more about the people who have taken such good care of the forest over the centuries. You will have a chance to see how wild tea is processed, pickled and made into chewing tea.
The English speaking guide will accompany you in the minibus back to your hotel in Chiang Mai.
| # persons | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| price (in THB) | ||||||||
| for more information go to our pricing policy page / prices valid until oct. 31st 2009 | ||||||||
northern thailand map
Page content under revision. If you have an urgent enquiry for this programme please contact us on info@track-of-the-tiger.com