For Thailand and delve a little more in their culture, one of the most desirable is to trek through jungles and remote villages to visit the tourist routes.

One of the most popular areas for hiking in the forest is the northern part of the country from Chiang Mai to the border with Myanmar. Both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are two cities ideal for use as a base camp before starting the trek. In both populations can get everything you need for the journey and know the daily life of urban centers less congested than Bangkok.

Photography by AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker

To enjoy the experience, unless you are an adventurer with much experience, it is best to hire the trek with a local agency. It’s cheaper than if purchased in a foreign agency and you are sure to have a guide who knows the place and also to advise you during the journey and learn something about the lifestyle of hill tribes will also be excellent interpreters connect with the locals. Almost all trekking guides were born in the mountain villages, for they speak their language and know perfectly their customs and the forest to come over.

Photography by Argenberg

The offer is very wide and you will find a multitude of agencies that offer tours of this type. Compare the deals, because although there may be significant price differences also exist circuits much more interesting than others. If you want to experience a real and stay away from the busiest forest plots by tourists, I recommend the trek to Eagle House. It’s a bit more expensive than others, but you will not be in an amusement park, and our experience, do not even intersect with tourists during the three days of the longer option and further away from urban populations.

Eagle House has two hostels in Chiang Mai, where you can sleep over before and after the trekking, but not required and you can arrange trekking and stay in another hotel or hostel. Its facilities are simple, no frills and economic have rooms for up to eight beds, in case if you travel in group or if you want to save on the cost of accommodation and share a room with other travelers.

Your guides are professional, speak English and are concerned about the group at all times, although some companies change their guidelines and work on their own, so that the rotation makes it difficult to ensure good service.

The hill tribes have their own languages and although some people also speak Thai, it is not common. Recognize 10 different tribes, but according to the Tribal Research Institute of Chiang Mai, could be 20 and an estimated 550,000 people living in villages in the mountains of northern Thailand.

Photography by Silviapef

Tips:

– Do not leave without a good mosquito repellent!
– Ask a doctor at an international vaccination. To travel to Thailand from Spain is not compulsory vaccination, but if you’ve decided to make a trek through a rural area, is recommended to protect against malaria by avoiding mosquito bites and taking prophylaxis drugs before, during and after being in the zone risk.
– It is essential to wear comfortable shoes. Sneakers are recommended either trekking or even resistant sneakers and sandals that can get wet, because inevitably the route will pass through rice fields where you have to put my feet and even wade rivers shallower areas.
– Lighten the most of your luggage. You will have to carry him and the hardest day, walk up to 8 hours. For a 3-day trek is enough to take the stand, two sets, a sweatshirt for the evening, the cabinet and a few personal care items.
– Do not forget to wear a raincoat in your luggage, especially if you make your trip during the monsoon season.
– The villagers of the forest are very friendly and smiling people make you feel at home, so it is advisable to be educated in the living and when you take pictures, ask permission, you’ll probably say yes.
– Care for the environment. The beauty of these circuits is to enjoy nature. In the more remote from the tour, you will cross completely wild forests where local people live without harming the environment. Collect all the garbage in the villages can get rid of it.

Good Luck!