The Waterfall You Climb Up
Limestone falls with enough grip to walk straight up them, an hour north of the city, and free.
The rock here is mineral-rich limestone, and the deposits it leaves make the surface of the falls grip like coarse concrete rather than turning slick with algae. The result is a waterfall you climb — barefoot, hands on the rock, straight up the middle of the flow. It sounds like a gimmick until you do it.
The falls sit inside Sri Lanna National Park north of Mae Taeng, with a spring at the top and shaded picnic ground around them. Entry is free, which in Thailand's national park system is unusual enough to mention.
The route
Stop by stop, with the drive between each.
- 1
Mae Taeng
A stop for fuel and food on the way north. There is nothing else to detain you.
The district north of Chiang Mai where the Ping valley narrows and the road to Chiang Dao begins. Elephant camps and river rafting are its well-known draws; Wat Ban Den and the Mae Ngat reservoir are the quieter ones.
Wikipedia →::::=UT=:::: · CC BY-SA 3.0 55 min · 40 km - 2
Chet Si Fountain
The spring that feeds the falls, at the top of the site. Startlingly clear and cold, and most visitors miss it.
The spring that feeds Bua Thong, in the same forest park — its Thai name, *chet si*, means seven colours. Clear water rising out of limestone under trees.
Tourism Directory →chootrong · CC BY 3.0 34 min · 25 km - 3
Bua Thong Falls
Three main tiers with ropes fixed alongside. Climb up, walk down the stairs, do it again. Go barefoot — sandals are worse than nothing on this rock.
Limestone, about 100 metres over two main tiers at roughly fifty degrees. The rock is porous and grips underfoot rather than turning slippery, which is why people climb it — the reason it is known as the sticky waterfall.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 1 min · 0 km - 4
Optional: Mae Ngat Reservoir
Floating raft houses on a large lake, reached on a longtail boat from the dam. Turns a half day into a full one.
Sri Lanna National Park, on 12,500 rai of water held back by the Mae Ngad Somboonchol dam and ringed by hills. In cold season the mist sits on the water at first light. Longtail boats, kayaks and raft houses.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 24 min · 17 km
Best time to go
Year-round. The flow is strongest in the green season, and the rock still grips. Weekday mornings are near-empty; weekends bring Thai families and a lot of noise. Even in the hot season the water is genuinely cold.
Before you set off
Bring a change of clothes; you will get wet. There is no entry fee but there are donation boxes and food stalls. The road in from Route 1001 is narrow and unlit in the last few kilometres. Phone signal is patchy at the falls.
