Secret Waterfall & Bamboo Rafting in Mae Wang — Half Day from Chiang Mai
A half day in the Mae Wang valley: a quiet jungle waterfall with a tea and snack break, half an hour poling downstream on a bamboo raft, and lunch at a local restaurant.
- Duration
- Half day (approx. 5.5 hours, 09:00 pick-up – 14:30 return)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Max group
- 20 pax
Forty-five minutes south-west of Chiang Mai the city stops abruptly and the Mae Wang valley begins — rice terraces, bamboo stands, small Karen and Thai farming settlements, and a river that runs clear and shallow most of the year. This half day takes you into it for the two things the valley does best: a waterfall that sees almost no visitors, and a stretch of the Wang River shallow and calm enough to travel by bamboo raft.
The waterfall comes first. It is reached on a short forest path rather than a car park staircase, which is why it stays quiet: you get the pool largely to yourselves, with time to swim and time to sit while tea and a snack are handed round. Water shoes or sandals with grip are worth having — the rocks around the pool are wet and uneven.
The bamboo rafting is the part everybody remembers. The rafts are lashed together from bamboo poles and steered by local boatmen standing at each end with long poles, and the river carries you downstream for thirty to forty-five minutes between banks of forest and bamboo. Your feet are in the water for most of it. Life jackets are provided and compulsory, and the stretch used is calm rather than white water, which makes it workable for children, non-swimmers and nervous adults alike. Rafting on the Wang River is run by the villagers who live along it, so the money stays in the valley.
Then a change of clothes and lunch at a local restaurant — vegan and vegetarian versions available if you ask when booking — before the drive back. Pick-up is between 09:00 and 09:30 and you are back at your accommodation by 14:30. Transfers are free within a five-kilometre radius of Chiang Mai's Old City; hotels further out are collected for a surcharge, which we will quote before you book. Infants aged 0 to 3 travel free.
- A jungle waterfall that stays genuinely quiet — no coach parties, no ticket booth queue
- 30 to 45 minutes of bamboo rafting on the Wang River, poled by local boatmen
- Calm water, life jackets provided — workable for children and non-swimmers
- Community-run rafting: the income stays with the villages along the river
- Tea and a snack served at the waterfall
- Lunch at a local restaurant included, with vegan and vegetarian options
- Infants aged 0 to 3 travel free
- Back at your accommodation by 14:30 — the afternoon stays yours
- Free hotel transfer within 5 km of Chiang Mai's Old City
What's included
- ✓ Round-trip transfer to and from your accommodation in Chiang Mai (free within 5 km of the Old City)
- ✓ Local guide
- ✓ Bamboo rafting ticket on the Wang River (30 to 45 minutes)
- ✓ Life jacket
- ✓ Lunch at a local restaurant, with vegan and vegetarian options on request
- ✓ Tea and a snack at the waterfall
- ✓ Drinking water
- ✓ Mini towel
- ✓ Accident insurance
- Transfer surcharge for accommodation outside the 5 km radius of Chiang Mai's Old City
- Additional drinks beyond the included water and tea
- Personal equipment, sunscreen and insect repellent
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Gratuities for the guide and boatmen
- 09:00
Pick-up from your accommodation
Collected between 09:00 and 09:30 in an air-conditioned vehicle. The drive south-west takes about 45 minutes, out through the city edge and into the farmland and bamboo of the Mae Wang valley, with a briefing on the way.
- 10:00
Secret waterfall, swim, tea and snack
A short walk in on a forest path to the waterfall and its pool. Time to swim and cool off, followed by tea and a snack beside the water. The rocks are wet and uneven, so sandals with grip or water shoes help.
- 11:30
Bamboo rafting on the Wang River
Life jackets on and onto the bamboo rafts, which are poled downstream by local boatmen for 30 to 45 minutes between forested banks. The water is shallow and calm; expect your feet and probably the rest of you to get wet.
- 12:30
Change and lunch
Change into dry clothes at the changing point, then lunch at a local restaurant. Vegan and vegetarian versions are available if requested at booking.
- 13:45
Drive back to Chiang Mai
Return through the valley to the city.
- 14:30
Drop-off at your accommodation
Arrive back at your hotel or guesthouse by around 14:30, with the whole afternoon free.
Yes. The stretch of the Wang River used is shallow and calm — this is a gentle downstream float, not white water. Life jackets are provided and must be worn, and the boatmen who pole the rafts have worked this river all their lives. Infants aged 0 to 3 travel free; tell us the ages in your group at booking so the right number of child life jackets is on the raft.
Transfers are free from any accommodation within a five-kilometre radius of Chiang Mai's Old City, which covers Nimman, Chang Klan, the Ping riverside and most central guesthouses. Further out — Hang Dong, Mae Rim, San Sai and similar — a surcharge applies. Send us your hotel name when you enquire and we will confirm the exact amount before you pay anything.
Assume you will get thoroughly wet at both the waterfall and on the raft. Wear swimwear under your clothes, bring a full dry change, and pack sandals or water shoes with grip. A mini towel is provided, but a full-size towel of your own is more comfortable. Add sunscreen, insect repellent and a waterproof pouch if you want to take photographs on the river.
Lunch at a local restaurant is included, and vegan and vegetarian versions are available — tell us when you book so the kitchen is prepared, and mention any allergies at the same time.
About five and a half hours door to door: pick-up between 09:00 and 09:30, drop-off back at your accommodation by around 14:30. It is a genuine half day, so you can pair it with a massage, the Sunday walking street or a cooking class in the evening.
It runs year-round. Between June and October the waterfall is at its fullest and the river runs higher and faster, which makes the rafting quicker; after a heavy downpour the boatmen may adjust or shorten the run for safety. In the dry months from February to April the water is lower, clearer and warmer.
The rafts and the boatmen come from the villages along the Wang River, and the rafting fee — which is included in your price — goes to them directly. It is one of the more straightforward examples of tourism money reaching the people whose landscape you are visiting.