Hiking in Chiang Mai: 2 Days in Khun Tan National Park
This weekend I had an adventure in Khun Tan National Park, on the border of Lamphun and Lampang in Northern Thailand.It was so freaking gorgeous!
It's cool season right now, so the weather was perfect for hauling myself 1372 metres above sea level - sunny, breezy and cool. It was like a hot summer's day in England.
Khun Tan is about an hour and a half away from Chiang Mai. There's a trail that takes you all the way to the top of the mountain. It's not a very difficult hike, but it's pretty steep in places and it can be tiring with full backpacks. At the top, the view is amazing. The mountains roll on and on into the distance.
We had to take our lunch and breakfast for the next morning in mouse-proof containers. Cheese sandwiches and Nutella crackers; yum ;)
We stayed in rustic mission huts near the top of the mountain. Twenty people could sleep in each one, and the walls were open to the forest. You can see fields and lakes shimmering in the distance from your bed.
I had to find an extra blanket and sleep in my socks and hoodie because it was cold at night. If you're gonna do this trip, take warm clothes! Andy and I shared a room with friends from Ireland.
Here you can see Caitriona relaxing against the Eiffel Tower in our rustic, half-walled hut.
Hikers like to wake up early. My mum says that it's because they like to squeeze every last minute out of the day. Personally I prefer a lie-in when I can; so I was pretty tired by the time we reached the camping-huts near the top of the mountain.
BBQ in the forest
The people who organised the hike bbq-ed so much delicious food for us all! Everyone chipped in to help prepare the feast: rice, noodles, vegetables, som tam, chicken, fish and ribs with bbq sauce. Followed by homemade carrot cake... followed by birthday cake! Beer Man drove boxes of beer and whiskey all the way up the mountain trail on a motorbike (madness) and we played drinking games with new friends. 'Spoons' is awesome.
Do you want to hike in Khun Tan National Park, Chiang Mai?
Drive here and follow signs to the highest National Park car park, past the restaurant and field at the bottom. The trail is around 6km and starts at the carpark. There are guards at the entrance dressed in army gear. You could walk up and back down in one day, or stay overnight. To arrange a stay in the mission huts, apparently you have to call Payap University. There were other huts available to rent further down the mountain, but I have no idea how you book them. I guess just turn up and see what you can arrange ;)
nice post
ReplyDeleteThanks Tia! :D
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