Chiang Dao Cave & 5 Hill Tribe Villages

Tik our guide was extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend this trip. We met some lovely local women from the Akha community.

My Dad and I had an incredible time on the Cave and Hill Tribe tour with Saman as our guide. He was fantastic and so knowledgeable especially about everything agricultural! We both learned a lot and would highly recommend this experience for anyone wanting to experience a bit more of Thailand out of the bigger cities. We came in the off season so there were not many people at all in the caves and were the only two people on the tours that made for a very personal experience.

I had a great experience with my tour guide Tik. Tik is well spoken and knowledgeable. We first visited the tribes and strolled around their villages. The caves were impressive. Overall, I would definitely recommend to those who want to have a quieter excursion and immerse in nature.

Really fun, 10/10. I learned allot on the village tour, Jane taught us about plants, cooking, village life and seemed to get along well with the locals. The restaurant we stopped at had really good food and the cave was also amazing. Thankyou Jane :)

It was really great. I highly recommend and love my guide how kind they are and pay attention to everything. They even gave us some fresh fruits on the way to go!

The tour is geared to give money to the villages. Tour would usually show how village people would work hard and need support. Since ut was Easter, no one was out doing anything so tour guide was disappointed. The cave tour was a hoax. Looked like they created statues throughout for purposes of tour. Totally opposite of what we thought. It was a wasted day. Would not recommend unless you want to feel sorry for the villages and give money or buy things.

The tour was amazing! The guide Ammy was very good and made everything better.

This is a follow up to my previous review. While we visited each village, I was introduced to people selling their "handmade" crafts. I questioned at one point if they were truly handmade and was assured this was true. Upon return to Chiang Mai, I made my way to the Night Market (for the first time) and discovered stalls full of these items. It became clear my instincts were correct. And, the prices were lower. So, if you want to but handmade gifts, notice what they are actually making. Otherwise, understand the items are same as you will find on street markets. I am still trying g to sort out how so many people are living with so little in the village when there are acres and acres of orchards that they are reportedly managing. I plan to research more. At the end of the day, I would have preferred to make a donation and not been misled.

Great variety of things on this tour,tour guide was really knowledgeable and friendly it was great day out

Excellent experience seeing the villages! Jane and driver were great! Loved the cave as well. Best tour of all!

Traveling with my adult son. Jane was our guide and she did fine job of filling us in on what we were seeing. Our first stop was at a butterfly preserve to use restroom. Amazing selection of butterflies but we had to rush thru. We then went to see how a few mountain tribes live and they tried selling their wares to us. Was interesting how it looked like they lived simply yet every house had satellite dish. Was hot and dry out there, bring your water bottle. We then went to the cave. It had small clearance in parts and was slippery so I stayed outside and wandered the grounds while tour went in. The tour was enjoyable but I think the tour would have been much better if we would have had a real stop at butterfly preserve instead of quick bathroom break, and visited a few less tribes.

We went on this tour last minute on new years day. We had a wonderful time at the Karen Village and Chiang Dao Cave and beautiful stops along the way. Our guide and driver were knowledgeable and friendly. It was a perfect short adventure on New Years day. It was surprisingly affordable and awesome value for the price we paid. Thank you

It was a nice small group in which we had time to take in the places. The 5 hill tribe village was much more interesting then I would have expected. There was a very pleasant lunch, which cost very little. The caves were really interest. The cave formed over a million year, full of Buddha statues for the faith to worship at.

This tour started a bit tragically for us. Our tour guide, Bry, was ill, and our small group was afraid he was going to fall unconscious or that we would also get sick. Fortunately for us this did not happen, and our tour proceeded as normal. The 5 villages was a bit of a disappointment. I do not thing there was proper coordination with the villages and the tour operator. The places we went to were basically deserted, and Bry ended up only showing photos of the traditional costumes on his phone. And we did not see 5 villages, only 4, as Bry told us one of the villages was not very receptive of tourists, so we opted to skip it for their sake. But the caves were amazing! This was the highlight of the trip, and fortunately for us by this time Bry was already well enough to accompany us on the rather physically challenging spelunking that was involved. It was truly an adventure. If you can find it, skip the village tour and just go to the caves.

This was a fantastic experience. Our guide Maggie was great and it was a very authentic experience. I would recommend it to others!

Fabulous small group day trip with our guide Jane who shared meaningful insight and genuine care for the members of the mountain communities we visited. Then she expertly guided us through our visit to the caves, which were awesome! Her knowledge, flexibility, and humor made this trip extra special. Thank you, Jane!

Jane was a wonderful guide. She had in depth knowledge of the Hill Tribes and was able to give us an up close and unique experience.

I really don't like writing negative reviews but I feel I have to for this tour. It started off with us being told there was an additional last minute guest so we would have to share the 3 seats at the end of the bus among 4 of us. Given the tour had 3-4hrs of time in that bus, this led to half of the tour already being quite uncomfortable right away and we had no way to resist since our hotel was the last pickup spot. We started off at the Bai Orchid and Butterfly farm which was nice. However afterwards we were told that we would have to vote on whether or not to go to the long neck village, as it would be unfair to go if only less than half of us wanted to. This was one of the sights I was most excited for and really one of my main reasons for booking the tour. However the group voted 6/4 against going (on a tour they bought to see villages???) so we just skipped that village. The village we did end up going to was interesting as a rural village and our (very nice) guide gave us some interesting information. Afterwards we went to the caves where we got to choose if we wanted to go to harder to get to caves or just the easy ones where we luckily didn't have a vote and instead split the group. This was also nice and we had some cheap but good lunch there. Overall though being stuck on 3 seats with 4 people for 3 hours in a car as well as skipping one of the arguably most interesting villages around makes me really regret not choosing one of the other day trips in Chiang Mai, we only had two days there and once we came back from this tour everything else was already closed so the day was pretty much wasted. Please don't let more people than the bus can carry on the tour and maybe ask about the long neck village at the end so you can drop off those interested there and drive the others back. Our guide was very nice though, I do not want to bring her down with this review.

Guide was very knowledgeable and helpful for the tour of the villages and the cave. Learned alot about the different villages.

What a wonderful experience. Jane is an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable and clearly has a great relationship with the people of the hill tribes. She shared a ton of local knowledge and some interesting information about local plants as well. The hill tribes were the highlight of the trip for me. The caves were excellent as well, of course, but getting the insight into the culture of the hill tribe people was very special.

The tour was excellent, Maggie our guide was very kind, knowledgeable on the tour told us loads and also answered our questions. The tour was in a very clean air conditioned, mini bus with plenty of space and an excellent driver thank you

The tour was interesting and enjoyed. Bring extra Thai baht for tips in the cave, and at the villages for the locals and purchasing their goods. A stop is made for lunch but not included in the tour. Also the orchid farm only takes baht cash.

Was the first one in , fantastic opportunity,my advice go early, surprised around every corner, The lower cave is a easy 40 mins walk or for adventurous plus upper cave with lantern s, maybe a all day activity....

I was picked up from the hotel and then we drove to the orchid and butterfly farm with a quick stop to go to the toilet and get something to drink in between. The farm was really impressive and beautiful. I learned something new about orchids and preserving them as jewelry. The next stops were the different villages of hill tribes. The tourguide explained in detail the history, culture and traditions of them. I was able to meet some new people and see amazing views of the hills. He translated for me and the people living there and walked with me through the small and peaceful places. I can really recommend this tour to learn more about their culture and traditions! The last stop of the tour was the cave - which was amazing! I was able to choose between the "light" and "dark" cave. I choose the light one as I wasn't that much adventurous to crawl though small caves with not enough oxygen maybe. I'm glad my guide warned me and we went the light tour! It was awesome to see the different stones, stalactites, and learn about water in there and earth quakes! In general, the tour was worth every penny and I can really recommend it!

I'm visiting Northern Thailand with my boyfriend and we are curious about the local history, habits and way of living. We thought this trip could be a good way to go off the touristic paths and learn something about this beautiful country directly from the locals, and this was the case. Jane was an enjoyable guide, well prepared about the people we have met and their history, but also about the local plants we saw during the journey, explaining how thai people use them to cook and letting us taste their edible fruits, flowers and leaves, very interesting. Tam is a joyful guy happy to speak during the journey pauses and both with Tam and Jane it has been very easy to speak in English. We went to 2 villages where 5 different tribes live near each other, and we had the opportunity to see them working, to interact with them and see their homes and way of living. Then we went near Doi Luang Chiang Dao, where the cave is, and had a very local lunch experience, helped by Jane to chose our dishes. At last we visited the cave with Jane plus a further local guide that helped us with the light, looking at bats and underground life, rocks with funny shapes and ancient religious statues along the path. We would totally suggest this amazing experience to anyone interested in different cultures' way of living and that should want to be a bit more in contact with some authenticity in this part of the Country

I just noticed that I forgot to write a review for this one, but even a year later I can’t forget about it. From all my trips in Thailand this one stays in my mind the most. The tour guide is very kind and one gains insight a normal tourist tour could never give. Anyone who is truly interested about other cultures should give this one a shot!

What an amazing experience! I had the most incredible day visiting hill tribe villages and meeting some of their community members and enjoying a delicious lunch before exploring Chiang Dao cave and temple. My guide Jane and driver Kan were absolutely wonderful company and both spoke excellent English which was so helpful. The village visits were unobtrusive, uncontrived and respectful (which was very important to me). I'd highly recommend this tour to all visiting Chiang Mai! A+++

Today we visited some amazing people of Thailand. The Hill Tribes in Chiang Mai, they were so lovely and welcoming and wanted to share their stories and lives with us, it was a truly an enlightening experience. Our guide, Amy was fabulous and knew a lot about the people we visited. To finish off we went to the Chiang Dao Cave, the temple and history of the cave was incredible. I recommend this as a must do if visiting Chiang Mai.

Today we had a lovely tour led by Jane to the 5 villages outside of Chiang Mai. We enjoyed seeing a different way of culture and learning about the history of Thailand. I also enjoyed the caves when we had a fun adventure looking at different rock shapes. This is a great tour for people who want to have a better understanding of Thailands history.

Thanks a lot to Nancy and our driver. Very nice and entertaining day with good variaity. From tigers to tasty local meal and dance with the bats in their natural habitat. Kr, Nicolas

A fascinating insight into the lives of the the hill tribe people. Great service , picked up and driven in an air conditioned vehicle. The guide Saman was on time and very professional with a wealth of knowledge. You can see the way these subsistence farmers live and work, in low season focusing on their crops and in high season making crafts in a long tradition. The people we saw were so kind, handing over their produce with a smile. You can purchase home made items. The caves are stunning and again supports local people who act as tour guides. Health and safety is not as draconian as in Europe so you will have an options to slip slid over bumps and clamber through some interesting points to explore the caves led by a tiny person in flip flops carrying a kerosene lamp that is about half their body weight. If you like bats you will love the caves. There is an alternative route if you don’t want to be shown up by an elder in flip flops as they nips through crevices. There are dogs everywhere, very sleepy and friendly - i would have taken treats for them. I recommend this service

I had such a wonderful trip recently, made even more special thanks to Nancy and Tom. Nancy was an exceptional guide: warm, informative, always on time, and incredibly attentive to everyone’s needs. She shared so much insight throughout the journey, especially during our visit to the caves. Her knowledge and passion really brought each place to life. Tom, our driver, made the trip smooth and relaxing. He was friendly, easygoing, and made sure we were always comfortable during the drive. His friendly presence and steady driving made even the long stretches enjoyable. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was visiting the local communities. Nancy ensured our visits were respectful and meaningful, not just quick stops, but real moments of connection and learning. It felt authentic and deeply enriching. Thanks to Nancy and Tom, the whole experience felt well-organized yet personal. I’m so grateful for their care and professionalism. I’d happily travel with them again anytime.

Jane was a fantastic guide 10/10. I would highly recommend going on this tour and learning about the hill tribe villages. Bonus is you get to visit a huge cave! Don’t miss out on this when visiting Chiang Mai, this is a must do. Tam was a great driver. Pick ups were prompt and got us around safely.

Wonderful tour with Jane and Tam! She had plenty of knowledge and great English. She was super kind and answered our questions. Taught us a lot about the people, culture, and local plants/fruits. Took us to a great place to eat for lunch and helped us order. Food was great. Jane made sure we were very safe in the caves. Tam was an excellent driver and also very kind. Had a great day out.

Please go on this fabulous tour! Nancy was with us the entire time. We made a mistake on our part in terms of hotel pickup location and she was very fast to reach out and find us. Our driver Thaem was incredibly prompt and professional. Nancy had wonderful facts about Chiang Mai, the gardens, villages, and cave. She was glad to answer any questions. The butterfly farm/orchid farm was a gorgeous sanctuary- and you could really take your time. The villages felt like a true learning experience, about life, architecture, agriculture, history and culture. Nancy took us to a great spot for lunch that was delicious! Lastly, the cave was so meditative and beautiful, we saw different wildlife, shapes in the natural stone, and religious sites. Nancy was there every step of the way, helping, guiding and making us laugh. It felt more grounded and we took our time. We would do this tour a million times and will recommend it to everyone at home!

Tam (driver) got me to all the destinations professionally and safely. Jane (guide) was kind professional and knowledgeable. She showed me all of the edible fruits and plants in the village and told me the history of the villages and the caves.

Great tour from Chiang Mai as Chiang Dao is such a beautiful place and our tour guide Nancy was very nice. She was very patient, accommodating, and informative. Thanks a lot!

Jane & Kan took good care of us. Kan was a safe chauffeur & Jane is very knowledgeable. Good adventurous trip, recommend 10/10 doing this tour with Jane & Kan.

Hello my name is Hanny from indonesia. I wanted to express our heartfelt gratitude to khun Nancy and khun Tam for making our trip today truly unforgetable. Me and my friend had amazing time and you made us feel special thank you. Khun nancy you took a great care of us from the start and helping us capture bunch of beautuful moments. Your english communication also excellent. Wishing khun Nancy and khun Tam a good health. Hoping many more tourist get to experience the joy of travelling with you. Khob khun ka..

Two adventurous women from the united states in the british virgin islands came to chiang mai as the seventh stop before the end of a twenty eight day journey while in Chiang Mai we opted to take the night tuk tuk tour of the temples to see them in LIGHTS! Jane was a fantastic,knowledgeable, friendly tour guide. The TukTuk drivers were very safe! We will definitely recommend your company to anyone who's coming to changmai in the future!

I loved this tour! It was great to see all the temples at night, the lights were beautiful. The market was fun but the best part was the tour guide Jane! She's the best! So knowledgeable, kind, and took many wonderful photos of me. Would highly recommend a tour with her!!!

This tour is a great was to spend a relaxing day in some tranquil locations around Chiang Mai. Tik my guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. Visiting the hill tribe villages was done very respectfully. The transport was a comfy and clean spacious car. I would definitely recommend.

Our tour guide Leo was charming, thorough and knowledgable. We visited a local orchid and butterfly farm outside of Chiang Mai, 5 Northern hill tribes (Karen, Akha, Meo, Lisu, Palong) and the Chiang Dao cave. The tour was varied enough and the carride was broken down into smaller bits so that we don't sit all day for too long time. There are several good choices to eat tasty local food outside of the cave's parking area (even vegan, vegetarian and halal). The cave and its surroundings were breathtaking and it was a very soothing-refreshing experience after the hot temperatures outside. Personal observation: After reading further on the hill tribes living in the Northern-Thailand area, we would reconsider our decision and refrain from visiting the villages, as it felt morally wrong, non-ethical and raised questions of inequality, privilege, ignorance in retrospect. Regardless, I can only say that Leo was readily explain everything, he had a very inclusive and accommodative attitude and the half-day trip was worth the time and money. Thank you Leo!

Jane and A are the best! I had a solo tour with Jane and she’s the sweetest. Shared so many new things about the history of Chiang Mai. If you get the chance definitely do this tour! Seeing the different villages and tribes were very interesting

Guide Jane & Driver Tam are very very nice and good explane. I highly-rated and recommend. I really enjoyed. 가이드 제인과 드라이버 탐은 매우 친절하였고 설명도 유익했습니다. 제인과 탐 두분께 깊은 감사를 드리며, 다른 여행객들에게도 자신있게 추천합니다

Thanks for Jane’s team. They’re very nice and friendly, also knowledgeable to introduce many informations about the places and history. highly suggested!

Nice place and nice tour guide! Our tour guide Leo is very knowledgeable and cute (because he really afraid of spiders 😂 ） Actually these tribe’s culture will disappear in few decades later due to the generation change (old one will pass away someday), so recommend everyone to take a closer look to theses tribes before their culture disappears 😔

I had tour with Jane and my driver was Tam. Jane was excellent in explaining the tour. When I was in the cave, she took extra care for me when walking through small pathways, showed how to walk through different places and took good photos. Tam is very friendly and cool driver, we were laughing about in the car ride talking different things. On the whole a great experience, the chiang dao cave is worth seeing, it is big and can take good pics both inside where lights are there and outside the cave.

The guide Jane was knowledgeable and had a good relationship with the people of the village and cave guides The villagers were kind and inviting The caves you simply must experience