Guide · Mae Kampong

Mae Kampong and gibbon trekking in the hills

Mae Kampong is a hill village east of Chiang Mai, wrapped in forest where released gibbons now live wild. Here is how a day there works and how to hear the gibbons sing.

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Editorial team, trekkingtourchiangmai.comUpdated October 27, 2026Read time: 6 min31 sources

The tour behind this guide Chiang Mai: Gibbons, Trekking & Mae Kampong Small Group Tour 4.9 (804 reviews) 7 hours from$75per person Check availabilityCancel at no cost until 24 hrs before you set off

Quick answer, Mae Kampong

01Where: A village in Mae On District, east of Chiang Mai.¹
02The walk: A 2-hour guided hike looking for gibbons, up to 7 people.
03Gibbons: Wild and free to roam, so sightings are not guaranteed.
04Best hour: Gibbon duets run from sunrise to noon, peaking mid-morning.²
05Price: The gibbon trek starts from $75 with 804 reviews.

A village in the hills east of the city

Mae Kampong lies in Mae On District, in the hills east of Chiang Mai.¹ The gibbon trek this page recommends drives about 1 hour east from the city to reach it, and its listing gives the village an elevation of 1,300 meters. The last few kilometers of road wind, and the listing suggests travel-sickness tablets for anyone who needs them.

The village has a long record of welcoming visitors. TAT reports that Ban Mae Kampong won the PATA Gold Award 2010 in the culture category.¹ At the first Thailand Rural Tourism Awards in 2020, Ban Mae Kampong Ecotourism Village was first runner-up for Best Homestay.³

Expect wooden houses along a stream, cafes on the slopes and forest pressing in on every side. It is a working village rather than a resort: people live, farm and run small businesses here. Walk quietly through the lanes, ask before photographing anyone, and buy your coffee and snacks locally. The forest around the village is part of what makes it special: trails lead out from the last houses within minutes, and the sound of water is never far away.

The gibbon day, as listed

From the city to the forest and back

Morning

Drive east

About 1 hour by car from Chiang Mai.
In the forest

Gibbon walk

With the caretaker, to look for the released gibbons.
Then

Forest trail

A guided hike of 2 hours past an old tree and a waterfall.
Break

Mae Kampong Village

1 hour for coffee and the lanes of the village.
Afternoon

Lunch and drive back

Lunch with vegetarian options, then 1 hour by car.

Gibbon trekking from Chiang Mai, step by step

Gibbon trekking from Chiang Mai means a small-group day on forest paths around the village. The trek this page recommends is limited to 7 people, includes pickup and lasts 7 hours: about 1 hour by car, a guided hike of 2 hours, a 1-hour break in Mae Kampong Village and 1 hour back. Guides speak English.

The walk has several parts. The listing names a short walk to look for gibbons that were released in a rehabilitation project, guided by a caretaker; a 3 km forest trail with a very old tree it puts at around 900 years; a waterfall; a coffee stop in the village; and lunch with vegetarian and vegan options.

It runs in any weather, and the trail is steep and uneven in places over 3 to 5 km. It has 804 reviews averaging 4.94, with guests rating the guide and transport at 5 and value at 4.8, and it starts from $75. Plans can still change: it costs nothing to cancel until 24 hours before you are picked up.

The day in hours

How the gibbon day is spent

hours

The parts of the day the listing times; the rest of the 7 hours goes on the gibbon walk, lunch and stops.

Mae Kampong days

Three ways to spend a day at Mae Kampong

Day	Walking	Gibbons	Group	Price
Gibbon trek	2-hour hike	Yes, not guaranteed	Up to 7	from $75
Village & cafe day	Village sightseeing	Not listed	Shared	from $51
Private village day	Village walk	Not listed	Private	from $105

Walking, gibbons and group as each listing describes them; prices are starting prices on GetYourGuide and change by date.

Three Mae Kampong days

Gibbons, cafes or a private day

This page's pick

Gibbon trek

Forest walk with a caretaker

Length: 7 hrs
Reviews: 804
Price: from $75

See the day

Chiang Mai: The Giant Café & Mae Kampong Village Day Trip

No hiking

Village & cafe day

Sightseeing and a jeep ride

Length: 8 hrs
Reviews: 401
Price: from $51

See the day

Chiang Mai: Mae Kampong Village, Hot Springs & Bor Sang Tour

Private

Private village day

Hot springs and Bo Sang too

Length: 8 hrs
Reviews: 33
Price: from $105

See the day

Decision helper

Which Mae Kampong day?

Choose by how much you want to walk and see.

I want to look for gibbons I want a gentle village day I travel with someone in a wheelchair I want the dawn chorus I get carsick

The gibbon trek

A caretaker leads a small group to the released gibbons.

The village & cafe day

2 hours of sightseeing in Mae Kampong and a jeep ride to a cafe.

The private day

Listed as wheelchair accessible, with hot springs and handicrafts.

Stay the night

Gibbon duets begin at sunrise and peak mid-morning.²

Take a tablet first

The listing warns the last few km of road are winding.

Duets occur between sunrise and noon, and peak at mid-morning. These calls average 11 minutes and can be heard up to one kilometer away

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologySource 2

The gibbons: how they live

The gibbons around Chiang Mai are white-handed gibbons, apes of the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, Thailand included.⁴ They have no tails, and their long arms, hands and feet are adapted for brachiation, swinging arm over arm, their main way of moving through the canopy.⁵ ⁶ Males weigh 5.0 to 7.6 kg and females 4.4 to 6.8 kg.⁷

They are mostly monogamous and live in small groups of 2 to 6.⁸ They eat mainly ripe fruit, plus leaves, flowers and insects.⁹ At night they withdraw to sleeping trees, spending on average fifteen and a half hours there, from several hours before dusk until the next morning.¹⁰ A white-handed gibbon can live up to 30 years in the wild.¹¹

Gibbons have become rare in many of the forests around the city. On Doi Suthep, the park service counts gibbons among the mammals that have decreased significantly.¹² That makes a rehabilitation project that releases them back into forest, and a caretaker who protects them, worth supporting with a visit that keeps its distance.

Map

From the old city to the roof of Thailand

First the hills around Chiang Mai where the treks and hikes go, then Doi Inthanon with its summit, pagodas, trails and falls.

Map of the hills around Chiang Mai with Doi Suthep, Doi Inthanon, Mae Wang and Mae Kampong — Around Chiang Mai

Map of Doi Inthanon National Park with the summit, the twin pagodas, the trails and the main waterfalls — Doi Inthanon

1
Chiang Mai old city
Start of the site tour: the meeting point is Baan Meesuk in the old town, with pickup available.
In Google Maps ↗
3
Doi Suthep temple
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep stands at 1,056 metres, an easy half hour drive from downtown.¹³
5
Thailand's highest summit
The top of Doi Inthanon, at 2,565 meters.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
6
Mae Wang
Mae Wang District is one of the districts Doi Inthanon National Park covers.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
7
Mae Kampong
Ban Mae Kampong, a village in Mae On District, won the PATA Gold Award 2010 in the culture category.¹
In Google Maps ↗
8
Summit stupa
The stupa of King Inthawichayanon stands at the summit, linked to the visitor center by an elevated walkway.¹⁶ ¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
9
Twin pagodas and Kew Mae Pan
The Great Holy Relics Pagodas near the top; TAT lists give the nearby Kio Mae Pan Nature Trail as closed from 1 June to 31 October.¹⁸ ¹⁹ ²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
11
Pha Dok Siew
Pha Dok Siao Waterfall has 10 tiers and lies about 1 kilometer on foot from the park headquarters.²¹ ²²
In Google Maps ↗
12
Mae Klang Luang
Ban Mae Klang Luang, a hill tribe village on several Doi Inthanon day trips.
In Google Maps ↗
13
Siriphum Waterfall
Twin falls reached on foot through the flower plots of the Inthanon Royal Project.²³
In Google Maps ↗
14
Wachirathan Waterfall
About 70 to 80 meters high, at milestone 20 of Highway 1009.²⁴ ²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
15
Mae Klang Waterfall
Flows all year into large pools; rainy-season currents make swimming perilous.²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
16
Mae Ya Waterfall
Thirty tiers and approximately 260 meters in height.²⁷
In Google Maps ↗
17
Mae Pan Waterfall
Four tiers and over 100 meters tall, about 400 meters on foot from the ranger station.²⁸
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

For a day in the Mae Kampong forest

Bring

Shoes with grip for steep trail
Water and a rain shell
Insect repellent and long trousers
Cash for village cafes

Remember

Stay quiet near the gibbons
Never feed wildlife
Travel-sickness tablet for the road
The tour runs in any weather

Cost calculator

Price a Mae Kampong day for your group

Pick a Mae Kampong day and the number in your party for a total.

Gibbon trek7 hrsfrom $75 Village & cafe day8 hrsfrom $51 Private village day8 hrsfrom $105

People 2

Total from$150

each from $75

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Starting prices come from GetYourGuide, converted with European Central Bank rates; booking reveals the exact figure.

Video

A visit to the mountain village of Mae Kampong

The video loads only when you tap play.

Listening for the morning song

Your best tool for finding gibbons is your ears. Bonded pairs sing loud, long and complex duets, and researchers note that the sound of their voices is the most common way to find a group; seeing them move through the trees is much less common.²⁹ ³⁰ Duets happen between sunrise and noon, peak at mid-morning, last 11 minutes on average and carry up to one kilometer.²

That timing explains why the order of a gibbon day can change. The trek's listing notes that the caretaker may alert the guide when the gibbons are active, and the plan shifts to follow them. Go with the flow: a change of order is usually a good sign. A guide who knows the forest will also read the calls: whether they come from near or far, and which way the group is moving.

When you hear them, stop and stay quiet. Do not call back, clap or play recordings, and never try to feed them. Watch from where the caretaker places you, and keep phones on silent. If they do not appear, the song alone, rolling across the valley, is worth the walk.

Other ways to visit Mae Kampong

Not every Mae Kampong day includes a forest walk. A day trip with 401 reviews drives 1.5 hours to the village for 2 hours of sightseeing, then 40 minutes by jeep to a cafe before the drive back, over 8 hours in all. It starts from $51, with a driver who speaks English and Thai.

A private 8-hour day combines Mae Kampong with lunch in the village, the San Kamphaeng Hot Springs and the Bo Sang handicraft centre, and is wheelchair accessible. It starts from $105 with 33 reviews. Neither of these mentions gibbons in its record, so book the gibbon trek if seeing them matters.

You can also stay the night in Mae Kampong, which TAT recognised for its homestays in the 2020 rural tourism awards.³ A night in the village gives you the dawn chorus, the best hours for the gibbons' song, and the lanes before the day-trippers arrive.

Mae Kampong or Doi Inthanon?

If you have one day for the hills and cannot decide, the two are very different trips. Doi Inthanon is about height and scale: Thailand's highest summit at 2,565 meters, royal pagodas and big waterfalls, around 90 minutes from the city.¹⁴ ³¹ Mae Kampong is about a village and a forest, about 1 hour away, with wildlife as the goal.

Choose Mae Kampong if you want a small group, a quieter forest and the chance of hearing gibbons, and if you would rather talk to a caretaker than queue at a viewpoint. The gibbon trek is limited to 7 people, while the most reviewed Doi Inthanon day is a 9-hour sightseeing tour with stops at the summit, a pagoda, a village and a waterfall.

Choose Doi Inthanon for the views, the cool air at the top and the waterfalls. If you can, do both on different days: the mountain first, while you are fresh, and Mae Kampong after, as a slower day in the forest that ends with coffee in the village.

Packing and practical tips

Dress for a hill forest. At the elevation the listing gives, mornings are cooler than in the city, and the trail is steep and uneven in places. Wear shoes with grip, long trousers against scratches and insects, and carry a light layer and a rain shell, as the trek runs in any weather.

Bring water, insect repellent and a small amount of cash for the village cafes and shops. If you get carsick, take the listing's advice about the winding final stretch of road. Binoculars help if you have them; gibbons often stay high in the canopy. If you plan to stay the night in the village, add a warmer layer for the evening and a torch for the lanes after dark.

Travelling with children works well on this day if they can manage several kilometers of rough path and stay quiet when asked. Vegetarian and vegan lunch options are available on the gibbon trek, which makes it easy for mixed groups.

Your trek