mchristian

Would so appreciate any ideas about adventurous trekking in Chiang Mai and or Chiang Rai. Also, we are going to see the Opium Museum. Should we find a hotel that is close to this so we can stay the night around there? an

rhkkmk

the anantara hotel is directly across the street from the museum...its costly but worth it...

there are a couple of other hotels in the area but not many...

chiang rai is know as a trecking base in some ways...

crellston

There are lots of trekking opportunities around CM and, to a lesser extent around CR. CM is overun with trekking operators but there are many disreputable operators around. Personally, if you have the time, I would wait until I got there before making a choice and make sure you get a written itinerary detailing what is included, how many on the trip etc..

If you are really looking for "adventurous" trekking, I doubt you will find it around CM as many companies will take you to "tourist" villages specifically set up for the purpose. Your best bet would be to speak with other travellers who can recommend fro recent experiences and hopefully put you in touch with a low impact operator.

As rhkkmk points out CR is now becoming known for trekking and may be your better bet

Kathie

If you are interested in trekking, you'll want at least an overnight trek in order to see anything off the well-trodden path. You are probably better off to look for treks in the Chiang Rai rather than the Chiang Mai area, although Sgt Kai (based in CM) is known for taking people on overnight treks that are away from the tourist areas.

Bella_Bluebell

I agree that you will have to go overnight to get to anywhere off the beaten track - I think we walked for 5 hours uphill the first day to get to our first village, it was beautiful - on the side of a hillside with amazing views - and untouched in comparison to villages I've been to in later trips. On the 2nd day, I wasn't very well but the only way out was to carry on walking or get on a rather dilapidated old motorbike in the next village along. It didn't look as if it would hold my weight, so i carried on walking...
I'll see if I can dig out the name of the company we trekked with the first time as it was a good but hard trek. I think it may have been in Doi Inthanon National Park and we left from Chiang Mai but drove for a good 2 or even 3 hours before we got to our destination. It was 3 days, 2 nights but on the 3rd day we only walked for 3 hours.

The 2nd time I went, the trek was a bit of a lame duck - bit of half hearted walking and staying in a village with a television...