Visiting Chiang Dao and the Sticky Waterfall was easy, thanks to Trip Guru. The Chiang Dao Cave Trekking Small Group Tour includes stops at Chiang Dao cave and the sticky waterfall. Pick up is between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. with an official departure time of 9 a.m. The tour costs USD 49, and the price covers pick up, drop-off, entry into the cave, and bottled water. Trip Guru focuses on keeping the tour at less than nine participants, making it a small group tour and also making it very solo traveler-friendly.
Wit, the tour guide, arrived for pick-up at 8:15 a.m. in a comfortable, seven-seater private car because there were only four tour members. The car was spacious enough for everyone, and Wit was careful to handle the winding roads well. About an hour after the initial departure, we arrived at the Mae Taeng Rest Area. While there, we had a breakfast of shrimp fried rice, pork soup, and hot tea with lime and honey.
Chiang Dao Cave
We arrived at Chiang Dao cave at 10:15 a.m. There were two options when it came to trekking through the cave. One option was to walk through a lit pathway on your own. The other option was to trek through the dark with a guide for an additional fee of 50 baht. My group chose to take it easy and to trek on our own through the lit pathway. The lighted path allowed us to see fascinating rock formations and different praying areas with beautiful Buddha statues.
The trek through the dark would have provided us with the opportunity to see even more rock formations, a reclining Buddha, and to help the workers make extra money, but the group was satisfied with our choice. Though, if given a chance, I would go back and do the trek through the dark.
We got to the sticky waterfall around 12:15 p.m. It’s called the sticky waterfall because of the changes to its chemical properties over time from water cascading over the rocks. The waterfall’s properties have changed to the point where instead of being slippery rocks, they are grippy rocks. Their nature of being easy to grip makes it so that you can climb up the rocks safely and efficiently because your skin will seemingly stick to the rocks instead of slip from the rocks – almost like you’re spider-man.
At the sticky waterfall, there are storage lockers you can rent for 20 baht to keep your belongings safe. There is also a pathway that makes it easy to navigate going up and down the waterfall safely.
We departed the sticky waterfall around 2:15 p.m., and we were back in Chiang Mai by 3:30 p.m. Overall the Chiang Dao tour was excellent for a light day of fun outdoorsy activities.
Pro-tips
Get a discount – Use my discount code TEEW10 for a 20% discount on all tours at Trip Guru.
Take a jacket – The cave can be chilly, so make sure you wear a jacket or sweater to keep warm when exploring underground.
Wear sneakers – sneakers are recommended because this is more of an adventure activity.
Change of clothes – take a swimsuit or a change of clothes to wear after exploring the waterfall. A pair of flip flops may come in handy as well as a quick-dry towel.
Don’t push yourself – be mindful of any accessibility needs or physical limitations you may have that could prevent you from enjoying this type of activity.
One Cup of Tee 