Best Trails to the Buatong Waterfalls: 1 Day Enduro Trip

The Buatong waterfalls, north of Chiang Mai, are known to Thai visitors as the sticky waterfalls: the limestone deposits give the rock enough grip that people climb up the falls barefoot. Chiang Mai Endurotours uses them as the turning point for its one-day trip, which is the shortest thing it offers and the easiest way to find out whether the longer tours are worth booking. The route is published as OT.1A and runs Chiang Mai to the Mae Kuang Dam, through teak forests and on to the waterfalls. Distance is 90 to 110 kilometres with 70 to 80 per cent of it off the tarmac, and the day involves six to seven hours of riding plus an hour stopped for lunch at the falls. The published warning is straightforward: longer off-road sections, some spots quite steep and challenging, and the whole thing graded for advanced and experienced riders. The operator does say route selection is adjusted to riding skills and trail conditions, so the day flexes with the group. Bikes are the same upgraded dual sports used on the multi-day tours. A Honda CRF250L or Kawasaki KLX250 is standard, and a Kawasaki KLX150 with an 83 centimetre seat height is available for shorter riders and those with less off-road experience. Modifications across the fleet include closed handguards, aluminium bars and wide footpegs, upgraded clutches, braided brake lines, alloy skid plates, frame protectors, motocross tyres on rimlocks, waterproof wheel bearings, bigger rear sprockets and reworked suspension front and rear. Everything is maintained in the operator's own workshop. Day-trip inclusions cover the bike, motorbike insurance, fuel, a technical support rider riding with the group, full motocross gear and protectors, drinking water, soft drinks, coffee and snacks, a Thai-style lunch, a tour leader working in English, German and Thai, a Thai and English speaking guide, and hotel transfers before and after the ride for hotels in the urban area. Riders bring a daypack, a valid motorcycle licence from home and a pair of light shoes for after the ride.

A single day out of Chiang Mai on the operator's OT.1A route, running to the Mae Kuang Dam and through teak forest to the Buatong sticky waterfalls. The published figures are 90 to 110 kilometres with 70 to 80 per cent off-road and six to seven hours of riding, broken by an hour for lunch at the waterfalls themselves. It is graded for advanced and experienced riders, with longer off-road sections and some spots the operator describes as quite steep and challenging, though it also says the route will be adjusted to the riders' skills and the state of the trails on the day. The price is 6,500 baht and covers the upgraded bike, insurance, fuel, full motocross gear, a technical support rider, a Thai lunch, drinks and snacks, and hotel transfers before and after the ride.