A trekking tour in Chiang Mai's hills.

The first day ends in a Karen hill tribe village, where dinner is served and you sleep in basic accommodation. Breakfast is eaten in the village before the second day's walk, 2 hours on forest paths to an elephant sanctuary home to rescued elephants.

The afternoon belongs to the water: a bamboo raft ride on a river, then a 1-hour drive back to your hotel in Chiang Mai, arriving at around 4:30 pm. It is a full two days, with a lot packed in, and it rewards anyone happy to sweat a little for it.

These hills are lived in. Villages, fields and fruit trees appear between the forest patches, and the people you pass are farmers rather than performers. Your guide will often stop to point out a plant, a crop or an insect; it is the slow way to understand a landscape, and the reason a trek feels so different from a day in a van.

Higher, wilder country lies beyond. Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest summit at 2,565 meters, has its own trails and waterfalls, and our guides to the park, its trails and its waterfalls cover it in detail.

Guests also single out the welcome in the Karen village, the generous food, the waterfalls and the bamboo rafting at the end. One mentions meeting people from around the world in a small group, and one family thanks the guides for helping when a daughter's knee became painful on the trail.

The honest notes matter too. More than one reviewer stresses that this is a real hike, uphill and hot in places, and not a stroll to a waterfall; one suggests bringing or buying extra bottled water. One guest was not comfortable that the sanctuary bathes the elephants with visitors. Read those notes alongside the praise before you book.

The hot months are hard work on foot. In April the city's average daily high reaches 36.7 °C, and haze can cloud the views; TAT advises checking air quality reports and wearing an N95-rated mask outdoors during haze. Start early, drink often and rest in the shade.

The rains turn the forest bright green and the waterfalls loud. August is the wettest month in Chiang Mai, with 223 mm of rain on about 17 days. Paths get muddy and slippery, so good shoes and a rain shell matter more than ever.

Health is part of the same picture. The CDC warns that the risk of leptospirosis is higher after floods or heavy rainfall, and advises against swimming or wading where water may carry contamination. Keep cuts covered and follow your guide's lead on where to swim.

None of that is a reason to skip the wet months, only to pack for them: a rain shell, quick-dry clothes, a dry bag for your phone and shoes you do not mind soaking. A fuller river can make the rafting livelier, too.

Prices are shown live for each date and group size, and they start from $96 per person. Check whether you want the pickup option when you book; otherwise the meeting point is Baan Meesuk, a hotel and hostel in the old town.

In the cool season it is worth booking a few days ahead: the trek runs with a group limit of 12.

Treat the stay as a visit to someone's home. Greet your hosts, accept what is cooked, keep noise low after dark and ask before taking pictures of people. Beds are simple and showers basic; bring toiletries, a towel and a layer for the evening, which can be cool in the hills.

Reviewers describe a secluded night without electricity or wifi, a wooden hut on the hillside and plenty of food cooked for them. Expect no luxury, and you will not be disappointed.

Drinking water is not included, so start with enough for the first stretch. Electrolyte sachets help on hot days, and a small first-aid kit with plasters is worth its weight on a two-day walk.

Leave valuables in your hotel. Phones are useful for photos, but a dry bag keeps them safe on the raft and at the waterfall, and a power bank covers a night with little or no electricity.

Elephant visits are a personal choice, and welfare groups differ on bathing with elephants; one recent reviewer of this trek said so directly. If you would rather watch than touch, tell your guide and keep a respectful distance at the sanctuary.

Elephants used to roam these mountains. On Doi Suthep, the park service lists wild elephants among the large species now extinct in the area. Our guide to elephant and trekking days compares the other ways to combine a walk with an elephant visit.

Doi Inthanon has the most famous trails, including the Kew Mae Pan ridge walk at around 2,000 metres, closed from 1 June to 31 October in TAT's lists of seasonal closures. East of the city, a small-group walk at Mae Kampong looks for wild gibbons with a caretaker.

Our guides compare these one by one: the treks side by side, the 2 and 3-day options, the park and its trails, waterfalls, summit and weather, the Doi Suthep walk, elephant and trekking days, the best hikes near the city and Mae Kampong.

This trek has limits. Its listing names as unsuitable for people with a low level of fitness, heart or breathing problems, vertigo or epilepsy, for pregnant women and wheelchair users, and for children under 2. If any of that applies, a shorter day walk is the better choice.

It also asks for flexibility. Weather can change the route, the village is basic, and the day is long. If you want comfort and certainty, book a sightseeing day instead; if you want a real walk with a night in the hills, this is the trek to book.