13 Days Northern Thailand-China Cycling Tour from Chiang Mai to Jinghong
Tour Overview
Day Arrive in Chiang Mai Arrive in Chiang Mai, explore Chiang Mai by yourself. Day 1: Chiang Mai – Mae Nam Ngat – 50 km Stop At: Chiang Mai,...
Code of Tour: TAD0000027693
Length of Travel: 13 Day
Destinations of Tour: Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai-Chiang Khong-Luang Namtha-Nateuy-Mengla-Menglun-Jinghong
Departure City: Chiang Mai
Price of Tour: Request
Type of Tour: Private
Features of Tour: Minority Cycling
Day Arrive in Chiang Mai
Arrive in Chiang Mai, explore Chiang Mai by yourself.
Day 1: Chiang Mai – Mae Nam Ngat – 50 km
Stop At: Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai
After a short transfer, your cycling adventure starts just outside Chiang Mai! You cycle through rice fields and along irrigation canals. Every now and then you have to switch to give priority to a herd of crossing buffalo. On quiet country roads you go from village to village. All villages have their own colorful temple. Today’s destination is the Mae Nam Ngat reservoir. This reservoir is part of the 1400 km2 Sri Lanna nature reserve. You travel to the floating hotel by longtail boat. Here you can swim, fish, canoe and enjoy the tranquility.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Mae Nam Ngat – Ekkachai Boat House (private room or similar)
Day 2: Mae Nam Ngat – Chiang Dao – 50 km
Stop At: Mae Nam, Mae Nam, Ko Samui, Surat Thani Province
After a short boat trip, you will cycle further north in the direction of the beautiful valley of Chiang Dao. This valley is dominated by the mighty Doi Luang, which is the third highest mountain in Thailand at an altitude of 2240 meters. At the foot of the mountain are some caves that are definitely worth a visit. You spend the night at the foot of Doi Luang, in a beautiful setting.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Chiang Dao Nest (standard room or similar)
Day 3: Chiang Dao – Mae Salak – 67 km
Stop At: Chiang Dao, Chiang Dao
In the morning you can enjoy a good breakfast. This is followed by a transfer to the valley of Fang. The first part of today you cycle through a vast horticultural area where many exotic vegetables are grown. Later in the day you cycle past large mandarin plantations. The last 15 kilometers are hilly with a few short climbs. The resort where you spend the night has a beautiful location on the Kok river. Here it is wonderful to relax after a big day of cycling.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Mae Salak – Saranya River House (standard room or similar)
Day 4: Mae Salak – Chiang Rai – 25 km
Stop At: Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai Province
After breakfast you take a 2-hour boat trip on the Kok river, through a sparsely populated area. Along the way you can visit a Lisu village, one of the 7 colorful mountain peoples originally from Tibet and southern China. Most hill tribes still live in primitive villages, in huts made of bamboo. In the village of Ruamit you exchange the boat for the bike. You cycle on a slightly sloping country road to today’s final destination: Chiang Rai.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Chiang Rai – Laluna Resort & Spa (Garden Bungalow or similar)
Day 5: Chiang Rai – Chiang Saen – 65 km – transfer to Chiang Khong
Stop At: Chiang Saen, Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai Province
In the morning you first cycle along the Kok river. This is how you become acquainted with Thai country life. You cycle through rice fields and visit a rubber plantation. Then you go to a Chinese Buddhist temple, where you can admire the largest “Happy” Buddha statue in Thailand. After arriving in Chiang Saen, you will visit the Three Country Point in the afternoon by car. Here you will visit the opium museum. Then you take a boat trip on the Mekong River through the Golden Triangle. At the end of the afternoon you will be taken to your hotel in Chiang Khong.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Chiang Khong Teak Garden (standard room or similar)
Day 6: ChiangKhong – HuayXai – XiengKok. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Waking up with the panorama scence over the river. Huay Xai – Laos is on the other side of mekong river. We take a ferry crossing border to enter Laos in Huayxai. The adventure navigation start. First of all, we move outside HuayXai to a jetty pier. Our speed boat will take about 4 hours upstream the mekong river to Xieng Kok. Land of Thai and Myanmar on your left bank, and Laos on the right bank. Lunch break at a local spot called as Golden Triangle which attracts a lot of tour groups coming to Laos for a photo. Late pm arrvive in XiengKok. Check in XiengKok resort wooden bungalows where we spend tonight.
Day 7: XiengKok – MuangSing. (Breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Morning start our bike trip to MuangSing. We pass by several Akha minority villages. Picnic lunch break along the Nam ma river. This is smooth dirt road with some gentle hills. It’s a nice day warm up your leg before challeging up other hills. Late pm arrive in MuangSing town. Check in Puoiu guesthouse. Free time for steambath / massage or promenade around the town.
Day 8: MuangSing – LuangNamTha (Breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Morning cycling to visit Muang Sing market, this is a trade center for Thai, Akha, Mien, Hmong, Lolo and Yunnanese. Short cycling 12km to China border – a small branch of “China road” passes through Muangsing on its way to Mengla in Yunnan province. Then we head south to LuangNamTha. Just a few km outside Muangsing, we will climb up a mountain pass, thick tropical forest of NamHa national protected area and this quiet road take you all the way to LuangNamTha. O/n at the Boat Landing resort which is 7km outside LuangNamTha.
Day 9: LuangNamTha – Nateuy-Boten Border-Mohan-Mengla (Breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Get ready for a short climb up outside the town and on 37km to NaTeuy junction. There is a big road on the left taking you to Boten border between China and Laos, but we will not turn right to Udomxay. We will turn left to Boten border and continue our cycling trip to XishuangBanna of Yunnan Province in China.
Corss the border and have lunch in Mohan(磨憨) in China. We continue 60KM from Mohan Border to Mengla(勐腊).
Stay overnight in Mengla County.
Day 10 Mengla-Yaoqu-Menglun (103KM)
After breakfast, we will ride 18KM to Wangtianshu Scenic Spot for a shot stop, ride 20KM and we arrive at Yoaqu Town(瑶区瑶族乡), which is famous for the Chinese Puerh Tea. Continue 40KM riding to Lvshilin Forest Park(绿石林森林公园).
Ride 25KM, we will arrive at Menglun Town(勐仑镇), Menglun is famous for the rain forest landscape, of which Tropical Botanical Garden is the most representative one. Tourists can not only appreciate mysterious tropical rain forest but also see wonderful rain forest of line stone. There are totally 14 nationalities inhabited in this town, mainly including Dai, Hani and Han nationality.
Stay in Menglun Town for overnight
Day 11 Menglun-Dai Minority Garden-Jinghong
In the morning, we will pay a visit Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, founded in 1959. It is the biggest and richest botanical garden in China nowadays, which has established relationship with over 50 counties worldwide, and its international influence moves up gradually. Now, it is the National Education Base of Science and the National Tourism Spot.
We will start the 40KM cycling tour from Menglun to Dai Minority Garden(傣族园) in JingHa Town(景哈); After lunch in JingHa Town, we will continue the 30KM riding along the Mekong River to Jinghong City via XishuangBanna Primitive Forest Park.
Arrive in Jinghong City, walk around Gaozhuang Market, enjoy the night view of Gaozhuang Night Market and Mekong River at night.
Day 12 Nannuo Tea Mountain Cylcing Tour in Jinghong
In the morning, we will ride to Nannuo Tea Mountain, a place in the middle of way from Jinghong to Menghai, famous for tea of very good quality, as well a traditional inhabitancy area of Aini people, local Aini is good at tea planting and production, big number of ancient tea trees aged several hundred years are scattered around, and still bearing buds to benefit villagers.
Ride from foot of the mountain, with some ascent first, then flat and slow descent, walk takes 3-4 hours riding along the country road with a big slope. Moving along small trail or tractor road across villages and ancient tea plantations, we can enjoy refreshing air in forest, listen to singing of birds and chirps of insects in nature, explore Aini people’s simple and traditional life, if like, enter their wooden house built on stilts and have a short chat with them over a cup of most organic homegrown Puerh tea.
We will stop to visit a tea workshop and collect the Puerh tea from 300-year old tea tree; and then learn how to make Puerh tea with the help of the tea farmers.
In the late afternoon, we will ride the other way down to Gelanghe Town(格朗和), and ride back to Jinghong City.
Day 13 Departure from Jinghong
You will be free in the morning until your time to the airport or railway station.
Service ends.
