Chiang Rai tour

General information

Destination
Chiang Rai, Thailand

Program details

During this trip you will visit the Black House and the White Temple, two entirely different places. You will make a nice boat trip on the river, meet elephants and visit a settlement with different tribes, amongst others the famous Long Neck people. We end the day at impressive tea plantations before we drive back to Chiang Rai.


Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel. Board a longtail boat for the refreshing ride on the Mae Kok River. Enjoy the scenery until we arrive at the Karen settlement Ban Ruammitr. The Karen is the only hilltribe that keep elephants. Meet the elephants of Ruammitr and learn about the situation of the Asian Elephant which is threatened with extinction. You can make a short ride on the back of an elephant if you wish (not included).


From Ban Ruammitr we drive to Ban Dam aka the “Black House”. It is the proud work of Thawan Duchanee, a Thai artist who has developed a style of work representing the darkness in humanity. With lots of red and black hues, skins, skulls and various other animal parts made into eerie artwork. After this it is time for lunch at a local restaurant.


After lunch we continue to a settlement of the Padaung people better known as the Long Neck Karen. They came from Myanmar. There are a number of different tribes living here together, amongst others the Lahu Shi Balan aka “Long Ears”. Visiting this village will require some hiking. We drive back to Chiang Rai and continue to visit Wat Rong Khun, the famous “White Temple”. It was designed by Thai artists Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997. We spent some time admiring this beautiful temple before we drive back to Chiang Rai. Last stop will be the extensive tea plantations of Boon Rawd. We drop you off at the hotel.


Meeting/pick-up point: Chiang Rai City hotel.

Duration: Eight hours.

Start/opening time: Between 8am and 9am.

Languages: English.