Buffalo Soldier Full Day Mountain Biking Tour Chiang Mai

Mountain biking with trailhead was a great experience! The trail was beautiful and the equipment was in good condition. Our guide Thew was awesome - he told us a lot about the area and was patient with us as beginner mountain bikers.

An excellent company that has thought of many nice touches. Be aware that your morning pickup is, literally, the bed of a pickup truck outfitted with bench seats and a cover. Just wear a jacket for the ride up and ditch it when you start to ride. The guides give you a lot of information about the upcoming trail and 1 guide generally is taking lots of photos and videos you'll be able to peruse after the ride. At the shop you get a small backpack to use and a couple of large water bottles. Bring 1 more water of your own. The pack includes some fruit, sticky rice and some electrolyte mix, as your lunch isn't really until 2 or 3 when you finish riding. You don't really wants a full lunch and then start riding again anyway. It's a beautiful ride up high over Chiang Mai with plenty of challenging uphill and downhill. After walking from temple to temple, this was an excellent, physically-challenging break.

What an awesome day! Everything was perfect and they even captured the day for us on camera. We felt safe and looked after throughout. Was a great way to see spots of Chiang Mai that are off the beaten path. Really recommend - you won’t be disappointed

What a great operation! Good guides, good gear, great fun! We spent the day biking in the pouring rain and came back soaked to the bone and covered in mud head to toe. Kom was with us in the ride and he was enthusiastic yet patient and enjoyed showing us the views and making sure we had photo documentation of everything. Lek drove the shuttle vehicle and made sure we were all set up for the day. Vivi was so gracious and enthusiastic in the office when I signed up. These 3 are the heart of this operation and are so good at what they do. They lead these trips out of a love of the activity and that makes all the difference!

A really professional and very friendly organisation and an amazing route through forest on a mix of single track and dirt roads. YT full suspension bike was in great condition and Lek, my guide, was fantastic. It’s worth noting that because of the heavy rain in Northern Thailand at the moment much of the route is extremely slippery and some tracks slightly washed away making the Buffalo Soldier route quite challenging. A very welcome lunch at the end in stunning surroundings. All top quality from start to finish.

We had a brilliant day with Trailhead. We went on the Buffalo Soldier tour which took us through the forests and villages above Chiang Mai. Everything was really well organized and all equipment was of a good standard. It was mainly on dual track with some optional single track sections which were quite technical. Part of our family went on the Sticky Waterfall mountain bike tour which they also really enjoyed. The highlight of our stay in Chiang Mai.

What a day out, good start time with quick brief by our 2 amazing guides. Then off to the gorgeous Chiang Mai mountains. Lots of down hill with a few single track fun parts. Wide varian of trails experiences, with locally experienced and qualified trail guides. Great bikes made the trip that much comfortable. Can not say how much we enjoyed the day and we were looked after from start to finish. From initial enquiry the communication was quick and comfortable. They are a must to honour in the trails with when in Chiang Mai. 100% recommendation.

Great tour! Trailhead offers good options for all levels of cyclist. This was my first time doing a proper mountain bike trip and Buffalo Soldier was the perfect level for me.

I did the Buffalo Soldier tour because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and give myself and yes, it did live up to it's reputation! Not only do you need to use every muscle in your body to power yourself through those bumpy trails but you also need to use your brain for the technical knowledge on how to manoeuvre through those countless dips and slippery mud with minimal damage. We started off at the top of the mountain with some easy tarmac hills, but then it lead to some more bumpy and muddy trails where I fell off a good amount of times and I had to get off to walk up the hills because I was so tired halfway through! However, the staff were brilliant and they looked after us, giving us plenty of water and having plenty of breaks to keep our energy up. I especially wanted to thank one of the guys who stayed with me when I couldn't keep up with others because I was so exhausted and we got through the trail slowly but surely (please let me know his name because I completely forgot!) But it was all worth it in the end as we were rewarded with a delicious Thai lunch at the bottom of the mountain before being transported by to our hotels.

Nice trail. As a newbie mountain biker this ride put me out of my comfort zone. My guide - Kom very helpful from the beginning of the ride till the end. Very knowledgeable about the trail and have good technical knowledge on fixing a bike on the trail. Someone you can rely on when you are out of nowhere. He is a complete package. I hope I can beat him on Strava on the next visit.

Lek and Vivi were such great people to spend a day with - put me completely at ease for being a novice Mountain Biker. The whole day was run so well and Lek was mindful of going at my pace. Super grateful for the tour going ahead with me being the only participant, super impressed with the whole team from the shop to the ride. Can’t wait to go again!!

Absolutely fantastic day riding through the hills and national park around Chiang Mai. Mostly double track, which provided plenty of fast but challenging long downhill sections, and a few short and tough, but incredibly enjoyable climbs. Great views throughout, fantastic guide, and I was pretty lucky that Dan was able to squeeze me in at short notice. A tad pricey, but well worth the money. The bikes provided were safe and fun to ride, and our guide was able to make any minor adjustments that were needed mid-ride. Great service overall, had a ball!

Our guides Lek and Dan were friendly and super helpful with any questions and bike setups (even swapping brake lever sides!). Everything is very well organised from pickup to finish, communication is top notch for what we were doing for the day and safety. Loads of amazing views, a coffee stop and riding through some nice singletrack and doubletrack by villages, coffee and fruit plantations made for a very memorable experience without a dull moment. I liked it so much I signed up for their Smoke on the water tour. Highly recommend!

Great experience, Kom was an excellent guide and while Bon (It was Bon, I hope?) had to branch off with another rider, he dispensed invaluable advice about my brake lever settings that pretty much saved my ride. Knowledgeable, capable and great conversationalists in English, the team is highly, highly recommended. They're also adaptable to riders' needs, and will alter the route as needed. I know it is already stated, but for the best experience I encourage participants to have above average bike handling skills and a bit of an appetite for climbing (again, they appear to be very adaptable). Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect and appreciated the challenge of the ride. Kom was very supportive and they will not rush anyone. Making it in the end was incredibly rewarding. I do aim to be back, and will definitely hit up Trailhead again. Big thumbs up.

We had a great time on this trip, led by James who was good at adapting his speed to our abilities. We were pleased that it was mostly downhill with a few more technical parts but nothing too tricky so we were able to go fast! The bike were good quality - full suspension and robust enough to handle anything. Trailhead also provided knee & elbow pads and helmets before we left the city. We were also fed really well! The tour includes a drink and snack at a coffee farm as well as a nice lunch at a relaxing restaurant at the end. We would 100% recommend this trip!

This was an amazing day, definitely one of the highlights of my time in Thailand. The tour guides are friendly and passionate about bikes and exploring the local area. I made a spur of the moment decision to do some biking, and they were able to accommodate me at (almost) the last minute to go with a scheduled group the next day. The logistics are super smooth ... they handle everything for you, down to equipment rental and water/food along the way. Technically, this course is challenging at times...I'm not an experienced mountain biker and it was beyond my abilities at a few different points. That said, Lek and Dan were also great at teaching technique and giving tips along the way.

What an amazing day! Amazing scenery, very cool trail, a friendly and knowledgeable guide, excellent rental bikes. Everything was perfectly arranged and smooth. Highly recommended.

The guides were experts, the bikes were phenomenal, the scenery was gorgeous, and at the end there was some spectacular photography to remember it all by. I really couldn't recommend this highly enough, such a great way to experience the nature of Chiang Mai and leave your city brain behind for a while.

The buffalo soldier trip was amazing, great way of seeing the country side and having loads of fun going downhill in a great full suspension MTB. You do all that while still doing a great workout going uphill XD. The Trail Head team is also the best!!

I was so happy to find real trail heads in Chiang Mai. The tour was super fun and the description accurate. Guide took a lot of care, checked on the condition of the bike and individual settings, so that I got the most out of the ride. He shot some great photos and videos too.

Two of us did a full day of mountain biking and another day bespoke hiking, which was a climb up Pha Sam Liam mountain in Mae Taeng. I found Trailhead the best adventure activity organizer of any I've experienced during my 30 years living in Thailand. In addition to a superb product offering and quality equipment and provisions, their staff are the most customer-focused of any in the business. Several guides were dispatched on each activity to ensure there was one of them accompanying group members with varying degrees of speed and ability. They quickly assessed our skill and comfort levels and tailored the experiences completely around our abilities and preferences. Kom and James led our biking day; Lek, Vivi, and Kib led our hiking day. All of them are completely fluent in English, answered all queries with informed views on the ecosystems, and were warm and positive and made the events fun and rewarding. Extras like hot brewed mountain coffee on the trail and tasty trail lunches made us feel pampered. We also enjoyed participating in clothing distribution to the children of the hill village at the start of our hike - Trailhead contributes meaningfully to the communities in the areas they operate. Best outdoor adventure providers in the business - start here before all others.

Joined the Buffalo Soldier tour with Trailhead and was very impressed throughout, pick up was punctual, the bikes were in decent condition and the guides spoke excellent English. The tour wasn't to challenging and took us through some stunning scenery including farms, jungle and a pretty mountain village where we stopped for a coffee. Very professional set up and a great time of year to mountain bike in Chiang Mai with slightly cooler weather and lush green forest. It rained a bit but thats no issue for me. Highly recommend!

First time I’ve been mountain biking and it was spectacular. The views, interacting with local people on stops, the thrill of conquering the trail? It was an experience of a lifetime. Lek and Kom were steady, informative and fun. I highly recommend any tour with them.

Amazing experience mountain biking through the Chiang Mai countryside! Akhom was an incredible guide, and the experience offered a great mix of adrenaline, fun, and site seeing. Wonderful experience all around!

Gidday,I rode buffalo soldier last week,what a great day out. As a ex serviceman,this was better organised than many ops I've been on Lol. My guide Kom speaks and understood my Aussie/kiwi accent,and can ride. James the other guide/driver,another champion bloke, met us at end of ride,with a aroy maak beer and food. Overall highly recomended,even if my fittness let me down,as did gravity on a couple of occasions!!!

This company and the people who work here were great! Buffalo Soldier was a great challenging ride for us. We got to ride through some neat villages and stop at a local coffee shop. Shoutout to our tour guide, Kom!!! He was super friendly and knowledgeable. He also took a ton of photos and videos of us riding. Overall great excursion to do in Chiang Mai.

This was my first time on a trail ride. Amazing experience all around. Guide was super friendly, knowledgeable and gave me lots of riding tips. Wiped out once going downhill on a turn.....over the handle bar and landed with bike on top....only a bruised body( and ego) but challenging and fun for my 60th birthday. Highly recommend Trailhead

We booked this day to have a full on day of cycling but hopefully not too arduous for the 50-something Dad accompanying two boys of 10 and 12! We are not hardcore mountain bikers by any means, but we are reasonably fit/competent nonetheless. It was a long but very fulfilling day. Even the mishaps (broken pedal before we had left the drop-off and punctures near the end) just added to the experience. Trailhead collected us from our hotel, plied us with drink at their shop and drive the hour plus to the top of the national park mountain. Friendly, skilled and encouraging throughout. 4.5 hours of cycling over 25km down (and up!) the mountains was hard work but well worth it. The kids had a great experience and I didn't die - so that's good. Mr. Chu our guide was awesome and catered to our abilities well. Dan was our contact via email and the whole booking, support and query process was really well handled. Just got the photos and videos they took on the day and they create a great record of a terrific day.

This company and there people are amazing, wish I had more days with them. The infrastructure is good no problems shop vehicles are top quality. The trail I went on was in the UK a good blue/ red, especially red on climbs short and brutal, Kom my guide was a beast also knowledgeable and fun. Mostly farm tracks depending on the size of the water troughs running through and loose surface can make it fun and technical. In summary the perfect ride for an opening gambit, riding enjoyable with a few technical challenges and amazing scenery and the noise.. Not to touristy for bikers a must do.

For an intermediate mountain biker, this is a great intro to the Doi Suthep trail system. Trailheads were excellent, start to finish. Pickup at the hotel on time (and with air con throughout the driving segments). I brought my own pedals, pads and pack but if you don't, TH will take care of you. The YT bikes - a German brand - were in good shape when we got to the mountain Lek, one of our guides, made some needed adjustments to the rear deraillier, and no mechanical issues during the ride. I was the only rider on the Buffalo Soldier tour that day, and Kom, my guide, took good care of me. Unadvertised - or I missed it - he took photos and video of my ride. A great thing as they completed the pictures I took (Kom was great about waiting while I got out my phone to snap photos). You should be aware that the uphills on this ride are steep, right up old dirt roads (no built trails/switchbacks). I wound up walking most of them! My only constructive criticism: guides should not be making sexist comments about female road riders! As we were driving up the mountain, we passed several road teams in training, a couple of which were female. Inappropriate comments were made.

I am a fairly experienced mountain biker but the two people with me were newbies. Trailhead helped us pick the best trail so that all three of us could have a great time. Our guide Kom was excellent too! Great views and fun riding. I was very satisfied with our experience. Thanks guys!

The buffalo soldier tour was a challenging, but great experience. Since there haven’t been other bookings for this tour on that day, they did the tour just for us two. We were provided with water and a lunch box at the cafe (they offer also pick up at the hotel), then one guide drove us and the bikes to the starting point in the National park (nice drive), where our tour guide was already waiting for us. Bikes and the gear are well maintained. The tour guide was a very experienced biker from the region( competing successfully in MTB races) and we had a great time together. You bike through the woods (wild coffee beans), through a nice village ( you should seize the opportunity for a coffee break there, it is the only one😀), cross small creeks... The views into the valley are breathtaking, the trail offers a good variety of “easy up and downs”, but there also some really steep uphills (where we had to push the bikes at least in part) and “technical” downhills. One should be in reasonable good shape for the tour, because you really “earn” your coconut water and the drink at the cafe afterwards. It was one of the best experiences of our Thailand trip! We definitely will book again, if we return to Chiang Mai.

Well organized. Took time and set bikes up to suit individual (swapped brakes around for right side front braking for Aussie rider) Lek looked after us and made the challenging bits fun.

한국은 아름다운 산들이 많고, 저는 수년간 그 곳에서 MTB를 즐겼습니다. 사실, 나는 치앙마이에 탈 계획이 없었습니다. 시내 투어 중에 Trailhead 가게를 찾았습니다. 그들의 프로그램은 매우 흥미로웠습니다. 나는 적당한 MTB 기술과 체력을 필요로하는 Buffalo Soldier 트레일 프로그램을 선택했습니다. 시작점은 치앙마이 시내에서 차로 1시간이 걸리는 곳으로 1,670 m 고도였습니다. 총 30km의 대부분이 다운힐 라이딩 코스로 되어 있는데 1,700m 다운힐, 500m 업힐로 이루어진 코스로 대략 3시간이 걸렸습니다. 경치 너무 아름답고, 코스는 도전적이었고 아주 재밌었으며, Trailhead 팀은 너무나 훌륭하고 전문적이며 열정적이었습니다. 내 인생에서 최고의 경험 중 하나였고, 코스는 Chian Mai의 숨겨진 보물이었습니다. Trailhead 팀에게 이런 경험을 하게 해주어 감사드립니다. MTB의 경험이 있다면, Trailhead 회사를 이들이 제공하는 MTB 프로그램에 대해서 적극 추천드립니다. 치앙마이 (Chiang Mai)에서 훌륭한 경험을 하게 될 겁니다. 저는 벌써 Trailhead의 다른 MTB 프로그램을 경험하기 위해서 Chiang Mail 계획을 세우고 있습니다. -- There are lots of great Mt. in South Korea, and I enjoyed a lot of MTB there. Actually, I didn't have any plan of riding in Chiang Mai. During the city tour, I found the "Trailhead" shop, and their program looked very exciting. I've chosen the Buffalo Soldier trail program, which requires moderate MTB techniques and stamina. It started at 1,670 m height where took an hour driving. Totally, 1,700 m down-hills, 500 m up-hills, and about 30km with 3 hours riding. Scenes were so beautiful, the trails were challenging and gave lots of fun, and Trailhead team were so nice, professional, and passionate. It was a great experience in my life, and the trails were the hidden treasure in Chian Mai. I really appreciate for Trailhead team to introduce it. I highly recommend the programs and "Trailhead" company. Whatever you choose the programs by Trailhead, you will take the great experience in Chiang Mai. I also make a next plan of visiting Chiang Mai again to do the MTB programs by Trailhead.

I did Buffalo soldier as my first mountain bike tour and it was amazing. The team was really professional and they really know what they are doing. Tour guides are going up to mountains whenever they have free time to explore the area, they are really doing it with passion. As a beginner i were a bit worried can i do it, but they will drive as fast as you want and can, the safty is number on priority. In overal I had the best tour I ever had, the nature and the hillside view combined with adrenalline rush is just amazing. And the bikes have so good handling between these steep tracks and ruff surfaces. Will definitely recomend these guys and this tour is really worth of the price.

This is a great company and a brilliant way to spend a day getting out of the city and enjoying incredible views over Chiang Mai and the beautiful countryside. However this is not for the faint hearted and if you’re a bit out of shape you may struggle. It’s really hard work but very rewarding to have survived it! Would be enjoyed most by fairly experienced mountain bikers. I had done some pretty tame biking in the past but not recently and not this level of difficulty. The guides are fantastic, the organisation was also great. We had a brilliant day and am really glad we gave it a go.

I had the pleasure of joining Trailhead for three day tours; Stairway To Heaven, Buffalo Soldier and Rural Explorer. The Trailhead staff were very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful, and genuinely loved showing visitors their backyard. Whether you ride a bike regularly or not, I highly recommend joining Trailhead on a tour for a true Thai experience. Great value. Fantastic service. Quality bikes. Superb food. Just do it.

We did the Buffalo Soldier ride and it was excellent. Guides Lek and Chu were great and made sure all riders were having fun. Fee included free coffee in the morning, sack lunch, and refreshments after the ride. The day was challenging and PERFECT.

Great day out with a professional and well organized outfit, will definitely be back next year to do some more of the trails with these guys Excellent equipment and well looked after thanks guys

Super experience KOM is a great biker and solved all small problems quickly. For me, this tour was just right for my level Kom and his driver were great Would do it again anytime

Super organized bike tour (Buffalo Soldier). Booked at home in Switzerland, picked up on time in Chiang Mai and taken to the trailhead office. There helmet and schooner selected and then off to the “mountains” of Chiang Mai. Very nice tour and crisp trails through a beautiful landscape. The bike guides were great, very friendly and competent. The bikes were of good quality and were in good condition. Can recommend trailhead to anyone who likes to go biking and wants to try it out in Thailand!