Tour of the Golden Triangle
Tour of the Golden Triangle 4 days
In this exceptional four-day program, we invite you to explore the Golden Triangle and all its wonders: its extraordinary panoramas, its nature, its rice fields, its high-altitude tea plantations, its many ethnic minorities, its Buddhist temples, its forest monasteries and remote historical sites, its traditional markets, the border with Myanmar, the Mekong River, and the border with Laos.
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Program
Day 1
- Departure from your hotel in Chiang Mai at 7:00 a.m. and drive to the incredible Chiang Dao caves (the 3rd highest mountain in Thailand).
- Visit to the main cave, which houses a Buddhist sanctuary and remarkable Burmese Buddhas. Around the caves, a famous daily market of traditional healing plants takes place.
- Drive toward the Golden Triangle. Along the way, we make several stops.
- Visit to Doi Ang Kang Mountain, the former Chinese-style houses of General Lee (leader of the 3rd Kuomintang Army who settled in the region in 1962), the Silver Palaung village of Ban Nor Lae (a Tibeto-Burmese people from Myanmar, among the last to wear their traditional dress in Thailand!), and a Palaung market on the Burmese border (mainly held in the cold season). Depending on the season, visit strawberry, vegetable, or flower plantations cultivated at high altitude by the Palaung, as well as the Thai-Burmese border (former combat positions of soldiers fighting against opium traffickers).
- Stunning panoramas over Myanmar and a very authentic Black Lahu village.
- Yunnan Chinese lunch at the summit of Doi Ang Kang.
- Dinner (delicious Akha-Thai cuisine) and evening in the village of the Akha Loimi people (a Tibeto-Burmese mountain people), surrounded by nature in the heart of the Golden Triangle.
- Overnight in a home-stay bungalow in the Akha village.
Day 2
- Breakfast in a traditional Akha village.
- Day is dedicated to exploring the Golden Triangle region near the Burmese border, with exceptional roads offering many panoramic views, plantations, rice fields, and more.
- Visit to a Burmese refugee village, home to the Padong people, also known as the long-necked Karenni.
- Lunch with Yunnanese Chinese cuisine in Mae Salong, an incredible little town built in the mountains in the 1960s by Kuomintang Chinese nationalists, once involved in the opium trade.
- Beautiful panorama!
- Visit tea plantations in altitude (possible to have a full tasting of different teas of the region).
- Drive to Chiang Khong, with part of the road following the Mekong River – truly stunning!
- Stop at the very secluded teak forest temple of Wat Pha Sak, located at the foot of the ancient walls of Chiang Saen, the former capital of the Lan Na Kingdom.
- Thaï dinner in Chiang Kong on the Mékong river.
- Overnight in a 3-4 star hotel in Chiang Khong on the banks of the Mekong.
Day 3
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Morning: drive to the incredible forest monastery of the monkeys (a limestone site where a colony of wild Assam macaques lives and where Buddhist monks have set up meditation cells in the caves).
- Drive to Chiang Rai (99 km), along a scenic route with beautiful panoramas and many Hmong villages along the way.
- Thai buffet lunch in Chiang Rai.
- Afternoon – your choice:
- * Visit to the astonishing Wat Huay Pla Kang and its giant statue of Guanyin. An incredible place!
- - Relaxation in Chiang Rai (massage, swimming pool, etc.).
- Thai dinner and visit to the Chiang Rai night market.
- Overnight in a 3-4 star hotel in Chiang Rai.
Jour 4
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Visit to the magnificent Blue Temple (Wat Rong Sua Ten), followed by the world-famous White Temple (Wat Rong Khun).
- Drive from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai (186 km). Many possible stops along the way (hot springs, viewpoints, cafés, etc.).
- Thai lunch along the way.
- Return to Chiang Mai between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. (depending on traffic).
- End of the tour.
Rates
Price includes :
Full-board stay
- - Accommodations (1,2 and 3 nights) double room.
- - Vehicle with driver and gas
- - French speaking guide
- - Breakfasts, lunches and dinners
- - All activities and excursions
The price does not include :
- Personal insurance
- The drinks
- Personal expenses
