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Due to the nature of adventure trips, this itinerary has to remain flexible. The LiLi team have coached many thousands of people with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds on all styles of white water. This extensive knowledge and broad teaching base along with water and weather conditions will be considered to adjust the itinerary to maximise enjoyment and paddling time over the course of the trip.
Day 1: Arrive in Bangkok Airport, meet your LiLi guides and take a 30 minute taxi to Bangkok City Centre where we will get some food in a traditional Thai restaurant then we catch the overnight train to Chiang Mai. We will be travelling first class and will have our own beds to get some sleep for the adventures to come.
Day 2: We arrive in Chiang Mai in the morning, check in to the accommodation and prepare for our first day of paddling. Today we will enjoy a classic introduction to Northern Thailand paddling with a fun section of grade 3 / 4. Starting high up in traditional villages, we meander down a steep sided valley that has one of the densest populations of the placid Indian elephant anywhere in Thailand. We enjoy a truly unique experience at the take out where we meet our own group of tame elephants to carry us back to the road and our cars! After a long journey, a day’s paddling and a good feed, we will relax to an hour long full body Thai massage in the traditional night bazaar.
Day 3: Another day of paddling close to Chiang Mai on a river chosen by your LiLi guides suited to the water levels at the time of the trip. The aim is to experience a different river and get some good coaching and training from the guides to develop your style and prepare for the paddling adventures to come. In the evening we will experience some Thai culture... the active Buddhist Doi Satep temple overlooks Chiang Mai and is an amazing spectacle.
Day 4: Travel to the Nan region of Northern Thailand. This takes us approximately six hours of travelling through spectacular mountainous scenery. We will stop to have lunch at the beautiful Huew Rong waterfall... the section below is paddle-able but is rain dependent so if conditions are right we will have the bonus of an extra section of river.
Day 5: The Nan region is a truly amazing place, rural wilderness, very few (if any) tourists and the whole region is full of rivers with gradient! We will have a day of paddling and exploring on the Tard Luang, a classic grade four section of river, great fun and only a few people have ever had the pleasure of paddling it before! In the evening we will check out the amazing traditional food that is on offer in Nan.
Day 6: The morning will be spent making final preparations for the highlight of the trip... a three day trip down the Nam Wah River. This is a classic self supported river trip where we will cover 50 miles and over a hundred rapids varying from grade two to four through some spectacular Northern Thailand scenery. On the first day we will cover only a short stretch and make camp in a riverside clearing.
Day 7: Day two of the multi-day trip. We pack up camp and make our way downstream, safely negotiating the rapids and challenges that a multi-day trip brings. Late afternoon we set up camp and prepare a full cooked meal and relax by a fire to fuel us for the final day of our multi-day adventure.
Day 8: The final day of the multi-day river trip. We paddle the remainder of the river and take out early afternoon at a National park lodge right at the river. We will relax all afternoon in the luxury lodge and have a big barbecue and a few celebratory beverages.
Day 9: A final day of paddling in the Nan region, paddling a different river, scoped out previously by the LiLi team. This takes you out into the rural villages and wilderness where very few, if any, tourists have ever been before; this is adventure at it's best.
Day 10: Travel back to Chiang Mai, stopping to enjoy the memorable elephant sanctuary on the way. We will spend the afternoon relaxing by the Huey Kuew waterfalls and enjoy a Thai banquet overlooking the waterfalls. An opportunity also to get another Thai massage to soothe those aching bodies!
Day 11: We drive the scenic two hour journey to the Doi Intanon national park, a spectacular mountainous region of Thailand, renowned for its beautiful waterfalls. We will paddle one of the amazing white water sections available in this region, chosen by your LiLi guides to suit the water levels at the time.
Day 12: Our final day of paddling, and an amazing section of white water to finish - The Mae Klang. Putting in beneath the 150ft double drop Siritan Falls, we will make our way down what is set to become one of Thailand’s classic white water rivers. We will head back to Chiang Mai for a banquet and get the opportunity to see sample some of the unique Thai Night life!
Day 13: We will have a relaxed morning and in the afternoon check out more of Chiang Mai. It is a city full of life, diverse culture with an incredible mix of ancient temples to the hustle and bustle of a modern Asian city. The markets are vast, colourful and incredibly cheap and there is a huge variety of restaurants and bars to keep us busy. After dinner we will catch the overnight train back to Bangkok.
Day 14: Depending on the time of your flight we will have a chance to explore Bangkok. At an appropriate time you will be transported to the airport to fly home
The rivers of Northern Thailand vary in style considerably and many of the rivers we paddle will have only been paddled a few times before. The kayaking on this trip is all river running and creeking, The majority of the paddling will be done on low volume, warm water creeks... technical boulder garden paddling with the odd small drop and pools between rapids. On the multiday, the river has more volume and depending on water levels will tend towards 'big volume' style paddling.
A modern creek boat is definitely the boat of choice for Northern Thailand, they perform well on steeper rivers and have space to carry expedition gear. A shorty cag can be useful, but not necessary for warmth as it is warm water and climate. Elbow pads also can come in handy to keep those rocks at bay on the lower volume runs.
This trip is aimed at paddlers who are happy on grade four looking for an adventure a bit different to the normal paddling trip. If you have any doubt whether you are suited to the trip feel free to contact us.
LiLi will contract 4x4 vehicles through other tour operators.
The LiLi coaches are all highly experience kayakers and qualified guides. They have explored the rivers around Chiang Mai extensively and have been responsible for nine first descents in Thailand alone.
The LiLi coaches are also specifically chosen for their passion for kayaking and coaching. This passion, combined with general good humour, helps make paddling with LiLi a fun all round experience.
Love it live it has an awareness of the surrounding environment and culture. We believe it is important to support local communities and to preserve the places we visit. LiLi donates one percent of all income towards helping the local culture and community.
Logistics in Asia can be a headache at the best of times; we will make the arrangements, deal with the inevitable haggling and basically make every effort to make it happen in as smooth a way as is possible in Thailand.
Arriving in a new country can be intimidating. We will meet you at the airport and arrange for us to be taken directly to our accommodation.
We can also offer travel advice and pointers as to what to bring and what you will need while you are out there to further reduce the hassle of Asian travel and to prevent turning up with inappropriate equipment.
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