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Two riders in helmets on a red quad bike on a muddy forest track

Mae Wang valley, full day

ATV, elephant feeding, a hidden waterfall and a bamboo raft in the Mae Wang valley

Six things in one day, southwest of the city, for people whose objection to a day trip is usually that not enough happens.

Full dayMae Wang valleyfrom €54
Check availability ▸ ◂ Elephants

Duration

Full day

Stops

6 on the route

Starts in

Mae Wang valley

Price

From €54

The experience

Best for
Elephants, ATV riding and a full day outdoors
Not for you if
Engine noise in a farming valley bothers you, or you want a slow day. This one is deliberately busy

Mae Wang is the valley southwest of Chiang Mai, past Hang Dong and up into the hills, and it is quieter than Mae Taeng in the way a second-choice valley usually is. This is the busiest day on this site by some distance: a quad through the countryside, a stop at a Karen village, a waterfall away from the main road, elephant feeding, a Thai lunch buffet and a bamboo raft. Six to eight and a half hours, depending on the group and the traffic out of the city.

The quad is the spine of it. No licence is needed, the briefing happens on site, and the tracks are farm and forest trails rather than anything technical, which means the limiting factor is nerve rather than skill. It is also, unavoidably, the noisy part of a valley where people live and farm; the operators keep to established tracks for exactly that reason, and it is worth staying on them.

Read the rest

Then the day softens. The waterfall is genuinely off the main circuit, the elephant stop is feeding rather than riding, and the raft down the Mae Wang closes the afternoon at walking pace. The Karen village visit is part of the itinerary: these are farming communities in the hills southwest of Chiang Mai, not the ticketed villages built around the brass neck coils that appear on the Chiang Rai routes, but the same courtesy applies. Ask before you photograph anyone, buy from the person who made the thing, and remember that you are on a lane somebody lives on.

Six things in eight hours, in the valley the coaches forgot to fill.

The route

  1. A hairpin bend of tarmac road seen from above, cut through the dense forest of the north

    Southwest to the Mae Wang valley

    Out past Hang Dong and up into the hills. Quieter than the Mae Taeng side, which is most of why the day works.

  2. Two quad bikes climbing a red dirt track between the trees

    The quad track

    Briefing, then farm and forest trails through the countryside. No licence, automatic machines, guides riding the route with you.

  3. A Karen hill village of wooden houses with thatched roofs above bright green rice fields, forest behind

    A Karen village

    A farming community in the hills rather than a ticketed attraction. Ask before photographing anyone, and buy from whoever made the thing.

  4. A stream running through the forest between tall trees and their roots, well off the road

    The hidden waterfall

    Off the main road and away from the coaches. Short, cool, and the one stop nobody else is photographing at the same moment.

  5. Visitors in red mahout tunics and straw hats holding out buckets of food to an elephant under a thatched shelter

    Elephant feeding and lunch

    Entry included, hand-feeding, no riding, and a Thai buffet in the middle of the day.

  6. A boatman in a straw hat poling a bamboo raft down a green river between forested hills

    Bamboo raft on the Mae Wang

    The afternoon at walking pace, poled down the river, after five hours of everything else.

Why this one

01

A quad, without a licence

Briefing on site, farm and forest tracks rather than technical terrain. What limits you is nerve, not experience, and the guides ride the route with you.

02

The fullest day on this site

Quad, village, waterfall, elephants, lunch and a raft. If your complaint about day trips is usually that not enough happens, this answers it.

03

A waterfall off the circuit

Away from the main road and from the coaches. The stop is short but it is the one part of the day nobody else is photographing at the same moment.

04

Elephant feeding, not riding

The elephant stop is hand-feeding, with entry included. Nobody climbs on, here or anywhere else this site links to.

05

Lunch is included

A Thai buffet in the middle of the day, which on a six-to-eight-hour itinerary is the difference between a good afternoon and a long one.

What is included

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Chiang Mai
  • The quad ride with a briefing, equipment and guides on the route
  • Entry to the elephant park and the feeding session
  • A Thai lunch buffet
  • The waterfall stop and the bamboo raft

Not included

  • Dry clothes and a towel: the raft and the waterfall both get you wet
  • Anything bought at the village, which should go directly to whoever made it
  • Drinks outside the buffet
  • Tips, welcome but never expected

Practical detail

Duration
6 to 8.5 hours door to door. The spread is real and depends on the group and the traffic
Where
The Mae Wang valley, southwest of Chiang Mai past Hang Dong. Not the Mae Taeng valley to the north
Pickup
From your hotel in Chiang Mai. Time and point are confirmed when you book
Group
Small group. A quad convoy stops being fun above a certain size, and the operators know it
Licence
None required. The briefing is on site and the guides ride with you
The village stop
A Karen farming community in the hills, not a ticketed attraction. Ask before photographing anyone and buy directly
Wear
Closed shoes and long trousers for the quad, a swimsuit underneath for the raft and the falls. You will be dusty, then wet
Bring
A towel, dry clothes, sunglasses and a sealed bag for anything electronic
Booking window
At least 1 hour ahead, which is the shortest on this site
Cancellation
Free cancellation applies; the exact terms for your booking are shown before you pay

Read the guide page: elephants ▸

Common questions

Do I need a driving licence for the quad?

No. The briefing happens on site, the machines are automatic, and the tracks are farm and forest trails rather than a technical circuit. Guides ride the route with you. If you have never driven anything, say so at the briefing rather than at the first bend.

Is this in Mae Taeng or Mae Wang?

Mae Wang, southwest of Chiang Mai past Hang Dong. It is worth being precise, because the other elephant-and-rafting day on this site runs in the same valley and the two get confused constantly. Same valley, different operator, different day: this is the one with the quads.

What happens at the Karen village?

It is a stop in a farming community in the hills, not a ticketed village built around a photograph. That distinction matters: the Chiang Rai routes include villages where Kayan families charge admission and the arrangement has been criticised for decades, and this is not that. The courtesy is the same either way. Ask before you photograph anyone, buy from whoever made the thing, and stay off the parts that are somebody's home.

Is there elephant riding?

No. The elephant stop is entry plus a feeding session, and nobody climbs on. If you want longer with the herd, the dedicated sanctuary days on this site give you a morning rather than a stop.

How wet and dusty do I get?

Both, in that order. The quad raises dust and the tracks are dry outside the rains, then the waterfall and the raft soak you. Long trousers and closed shoes for the first half, a swimsuit underneath for the second, and a full change of clothes in the vehicle.

Six to eight and a half hours is a wide spread. Which will it be?

Closer to six with a small group and a clean run out of the city, closer to eight and a half when the group is full or the afternoon traffic on the way back is against you. Plan the evening as if it will be the longer one.

Book it

Ready when you are

Dates, times and live prices come up at the next step. Booking takes two minutes, and the cancellation terms are shown before you pay.

Check availability ▸

From €54

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