Seven Community-based Tours in Ethnic Minority Villages
Thumbnail description: The Project for Recovery of Life and Culture (PRLC) is an NGO operating in the five upper provinces of northern Thailand. The idea is help ethnic villages support themselves and keep their traditional values, and sustainable tourism offers one way this might be accomplished. Here seven multi-day tours led by local village guides are offered. There's deep immersion in the Karen culture, visits to Hornbill habitat (strange bird), trekking, caves, and much more.
Treks in The Hilltribe Region: People & Nature
Thumbnail description: Hosts Yochit (Dtaw) Nampholsaen & Cathy DiSantis offer ecologically and culturally sensitive tours of northern Thailand's beautiful Hilltribe area. They have developed a number of tours and treks focusing on everything from birding to sightseeing from the back of an elephant and learning about local traditional medicines to visiting ancient temples. Here we describe a sample three-day trek just to provide an idea for what is possible.
Hiking with a Naturalist in Northwestern Thailand's Hill Country
Thumbnail description: Host Chakraphan Prawinchaikul, also known as "Jon" to travelers, invites guests to walk through tropical mountain pathways and river valleys to learn about local plants and animals, and to visit remote hilltribe villages of the Karen people. Not only is Chakraphan an expert naturalist but also he has a talent for food preparation, so visitors not only will be well fed but also they will taste Thai cuisine prepared with fresh ingredients and on an open fire,"the way it should be," Chakraphan says. Walks can last from one day to up to a week long.
Exploring the Golden Triangle with A Cultural Anthropologist
The idea here is simple: With a Ph.D'd. professor and author in cultural anthropology, travel through one of the most interesting spots on earth, learning why things are as they are, and seeing things few outsiders ever see. The unique thing about this program is that it is not only possible to customize this itinerary, it is urged that the whole program be organized around your specific interests! This extraordinary trip is offered by Dr. Jeffrey Petry, a US ex-pat.