Immerse yourself in the breathtaking landscapes and vibrant culture of Thailand with exclusive eco tours created by The Mirror Foundation, located in Mae Yao, Chiang Rai. Experience community-driven initiatives that promote sustainable tourism while engaging with the local environment in an intimate, personalized manner.
Thailand Eco Tour by The Mirror Foundation invites you on a journey to uncover the hidden gems of Chiang Rai’s stunning landscapes. Nestled in the serene village of Mae Yao, our private tours showcase the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty of the region. As your knowledgeable guide leads you through lush jungles, local villages, and pristine waterways, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the environment and the communities that thrive within it. Our unique approach focuses on sustainable tourism, ensuring that every visit supports local livelihoods and conserves the area’s natural resources. Experience authentic interactions with villagers, participate in traditional crafts, and savor delicious homemade meals that highlight local ingredients. As you explore, you’ll also learn about the importance of preserving Thailand’s rich biodiversity. Join us for an unforgettable adventure that marries exploration with responsible travel, making lasting memories while leaving a positive impact on the world around you. Discover the magic of Thailand with The Mirror Foundation and reconnect with nature in a meaningful way.
Thailand Eco Tour - Private Tours by The Mirror Foundation (เมืองเชียงราย, ไทย) - รีวิว - ThailandAgoda.com
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6 miles
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1.08 miles
1.17 miles
3.20 miles
3.51 miles
3.72 miles
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4.31 miles
Thailand Eco Tour – Private Tours by The Mirror Foundation is perched on a picturesque hilltop overlooking 106 Moo 1, T. Mae Yao, A. Mueang, 57100, Thailand
Well we just got back today from a 2 days one night trekking tour , our guide picked us up at 8:30 in the morning we went to the mirror foundation and after that we started a long walk (with a lot of very steep hills ) we thought our guide we met would be with us but he wasn’t we walked the hole time with another guy from the lahu village who could not speak English at all… Which was a little bit disappointing..We arrived than at the original guides house where he welcomed us and his wife cooked us lunch we spent like 2 and a half hours there and our tour guide seemed to be disappeared again. The wife showed us how to weave for like half an hour and other than that we had free time there… After that we walked to the home stay with the guide who couldn’t speak English again … After we arrived there our guide showed up for like 10 min and we didn’t saw him again that hole day so we were alone with the villagers who couldn’t understand us. He appeared in the morning and we had breakfast with him and the family unfortunately it rained hibes and we couldn’t do much today we only drove through the akha village and visited the Chinese temple. We thought maybe there is like a alternative program for the rain for that money but there wasn’t we arrived at the hotel at 10 in the morning instead of 4 in the afternoon…Don’t understand me wrong the things you see there are really worse it and it’s good to support the villagers just the money didn’t really fit to our program
I did his trekking last summer and I have to say the experience is unforgettable , you go trekking trough beautiful landscapes, you visit tribal several villages, eat local and sleep there. It would have been a 5 star experience if we didn’t consider the elephant riding. I never saw so slim elephants, separated from each other and attached with less than 1 meter liberty. They are getting so bored staying there all day that they keep moving their body from front to back, all time . When you approach them they are begging for food and once you ride them they are trying on the way to grab some food everywhere they can and the “master” hit them to make them stop… It was really a sad experience because at the end you see that those elephants are suffering, highly unhappy and in bad condition.
Overall, it was an average experience. Even though there is still some things to improve and it felt a bit over-priced, we think this is probably one of the best option if you are keen on a trek to the hilltribes.We booked for the 4 days/3 nights trek as there was a full day spent in one village and two nights in the same house which we thought was better to understand how the hilltribe people live. We also loved the fact of being completely alone with our guide and not cramped within a large tourists group.Exactly on time, the guide Jafu (sorry for the spelling ;-)) picked us up to reach the mirror foundation, describe us the next days planning and show us a short video about the foundation itself. It was a nice introduction to the trek! Be aware that the walk is very hard, it’s all just big hill up and down, not always well defined tracks, with fallen trees and low bamboos. We are young and quite fit (after having walked a lot in australian national parks) and sometimes found it exhausting under the heat of northern Thailand. The walking times given on the website are estimated for a good walking pace and might probably be extended for less fit people. With that in mind, the scenery is just amazing! You will cross farms lost in the mountains, rice fields and bamboo forests, encounter buffalos, snakes and big spiders (which are to be expected in the jungle 🙂 ).In the three villages we crossed, we didn’t find the hilltribe people very welcoming (in the western sense, let’s say). The first stop for lunch, we sit in an other room of the rest of the family, they just cooked a very nice lunch for us and then they ate apart… which felt a bit weird. Same thing happened in the second village we stopped to sleep, they cooked for us (again a nice dinner), then ate apart. From our perspective, it’s a bit sad, we would have preferred to eat less and even share the meal with the entire family, but we know it’s all good intention from them.The village we spent two nights in was really small (7 houses!) and remote. Again, welcoming a bit strange, not a spontaneous “hello” or smile, the people were rather cold to us. We felt a bit like a bolt out of the blue. We don’t know it’s us, the hilltribe people personality, the stress, the pressure of having western people around… or whatever. They didn’t seem more welcoming when somebody was coming into the house, so we figured out it probably was their character. However, we’ve been offered tea, saw them cooking and ate all together the same meals every time, which was really nice. The second day, they taught us how to weave and make bamboo handicrafts. It was again a bit disappointing, you go down to river, then wait for 30min watching them cutting bamboos and preparing lunch, they start a bamboo basket, let you continue for 5min then they finish it. We would have preferred to take part into the making of the pots and everything which was needed to cook the lunch instead of just watching. Even if we failed, it would have been funnier. The weaving was a good experience, the woman was very patient showing us and teaching us how to do it, we still have our bracelets.We also had good fun with the two little grand-daughters (around 4 years old) of the family, teaching them a few english words and going for a walk. At the end of the second day, the smiles were a lot easier! After two days of eating rice, they even prepared us a western breakfast with bread, that was a really nice attention!The last day, we asked to remove the elephant ride (as we don’t support this kind of animal treatments), which they took into account. However, they didn’t find any other activity or refund a small part of the price, so we were back in Chiang Rai at 2pm for a short walk across the market. In short, what we liked :- The scenery.- The remoteness of the 3 nights trek.- The clear schedule of the days, our guide gave us clear indication of when was the dinner, when we were supposed to leave the village etc…- The vegetarian option.- The bamboo lunch in the forest! We kept the “plates” and glasses :-)What’s to improve:- The communication on how to interact with the hilltribe people and their culture (are they cold by nature? or they didn’t like us?)- The welcoming in the villages, we had to wait the time they were looking for a place for us to sleep. The trek was planned from a few weeks, I guess they could have thought of this problem before we reached the village.- The last day was disappointing as they didn’t replace the elephant ride. It also felt like they tried to fill it up with everything they could find: boat ride, hot spring, temple, market,… and we were back in town at 2pm. We would have preferred to spent half a day more in the village instead of rushing out at 8am, then waiting a boat during 40min and being back in town at 2pm. – We would have loved to be more implicated into the bamboo cooking, especially the second day in the village.- We felt the experience too money-driven and not really in a cultural discovery.
Excellent day! Great guides. Long tail boat to the kayaks, kayaking into the caves. Lunch very good at Bubu beach, lots of time to swim. Feeding the monkeys an experience in itself!!
The good points were that we visited modern temples, a house museum and art gallery. The emphasis was on modern Thai art, a long distance from the traditional style. The bad points were that we were collected in a double cab pick up with 2 hard rear seats, the shock absorbers were not effective, there were no seat safety belts and inside the vehicle the floor was dirty with papers and dust. It was also difficult to enter and get out of the vehicle. After complaining, it was changed to a more comfortable larger pick up with seat safety belts. The guide spoke some English but had difficulty in understanding us – we believe we speak Received Pronunciation. She was unable to offer information/history of the places we visited unless we prompted her, even so it was sparse. The Mirror Foundation needs to ensure that guides/are on the same level of service as commercial organisations.
We recently did a one-day trek to experience and learn about the hill tribes of northern Thailand, with this organization. We selected them having looked at others because they do good work to support the tribes and their way of life, and to help them with their human and civil rights. This turned out to be the best day spent of our three weeks in Thailand and Cambodia. Our guide, a member of the Karen tribe, was wonderful, and exceeded our expectations as she spent the day walking us from one village to another, through rice paddies and forest, meeting tribal members, making us a delicious and traditional meal in the home of some, and answering our many questions. This tour is more expensive than some, and worth every cent. And much of the money paid goes directly to the hill tribes. Best of all, we did not see another tourist all day, and never felt like we were exploiting the native population, but rather they were friendly and happy to serve us tea as a welcome to their villages.
This was a great experience but I think I would maybe have preferred just a day trip or one of the other experiences. The tour was well organised. We went to the white temple and black temple which were both amazing in architecture. So impressive. The pictures do not do it justice. Then we went to a local Thai village which was interesting. They were selling fish that were so fresh they were still jumping! I don’t think many English people have been to this village before as we were being stared at as if we were the tourist attraction. It was a strange but funny experience. Then we were dropped off at the village we stayed the night at. This is when it all became a bit confusing as it was so small we didn’t know if this was just a drop off to look around and then we were going somewhere else or what. Nothing was explained to us. We didn’t know where we were sleeping until our guide had already gone to sleep and my husband had to wake her up to ask where we were sleeping. The people in the village seemed very lovely and were extremely welcoming. The only problem was that they did not speak one word of English. The only person who spoke fairly good English was our guide. It’s a shame as the experience would have been amazing if we could have interacted more and learnt about their culture. We was taken out fishing which was really interesting. The one guy who took us was lovely and we communicated as best we could. We were trying to teach him some English as he seemed really interested to learn. The evening was really interesting because one of the villagers who no longer lives there came to visit and it was his birthday so we were invited to sit with them. They were all drinking their home made alcohol and singing with a guitar and my husband was playing the drums with plastic pots and sticks. Quite impressive what they can make an instrument out of! Be prepared as the conditions are very primitive. We had been warned but it was much more primitive than I expected. We didn’t sleep one bit as the house was made out of bamboo and was exposed to the elements and there were cockerels making noise all night long. It didn’t bother me as it was only one night but I know some people would struggle. The toilet is also a squat toilet but you get used to them in Thailand. It is a great experience but definitely for more adventurous people. If you can’t cope without a bed and western bathroom facilities then this trip is probably not for you. Hopefully as they get more visitors they will learn a little English so that it would really build on the experience. I don’t feel like I learnt that much other than they like to eat fish eyes and deep fried chicken claws. I think the hill top tribe experience may be more interesting from the photos I have seen. More interaction and activities.
We had chosen a 2 nights/3 days trek in the jungle with a guide from Mirror Foundation. It has been an incredible experience, on different points. Physically challenged (in the heat of april, with a backpack, it was not so easy), and on a human side, it was also challenging : people of the hilltribes do not live like us and have many things to teach us; and the confrontation with this kind of way of life leads to many questions about yourself.Our guide was adorable but unfortunately not so fluent in English, so our numerous interrogations about nature, flora, wild life or social life stayed with no answers.Be aware that it’s quiet difficult to have a good rest during the nights in the homestays because of the roosters, very early risers indeed. Lot of noises, bugs and unusual sounds can lead you to insomnia. And then the next day can be a bit hard. There is a possibility to ride elephants on the last day, but we refused for ethic reasons. You can do what you want of course, but not sure these animals really love to carry a heavy seat and the weight of 3 fat tourists… Of course it’s nothing impossible but it’s better to know it.
This genuine experience is well worth the high price tag as you will be contributing to sustainable and equitable tourism. We had a wonderful and really meaningful trek organised by the Mirror Foundation.We were picked up at our guest house by our very sympathetic guide – Chahan – and a very nice British working for the foundation.We started with a visit to a local market and to a temple before heading to the foundation’s HQ.We received plenty of information on the foundation’s work, the region, the local hill tribes and all practical aspects of the lives of the locals. We also received some information on the price and the break up – what was for the guide and his family, what was used to finance the foundation’s other works (much appreciated!).We then set up for our trek, through paths used by locals with very rich vegetation and beautiful scenery.Chahan constantly provided us with information on the vegetation, the growing fruits surrounding us, etc. He gave us plenty of information regarding the life of his people (he himself is from one of the tribes, and we slept at his place, getting to know his family). We walked through a bit of rainfall as it was rainy season. He showed us how to identify the bamboos and chop them down to gather the « delicious » (quote ;-)) worms that are inside, which we ended up eating as one of the several dishes we had the next morning for breakfast. Delicious indeed ;-)It really was meaningful to be able to experience – even for a very brief moment – the life of the hill tribe people, between tradition and modernity. We felt very included and humbled by what we could see.After a night in the village, waking up to the sound of roosters « singing » in a nearby tree, we headed a bit outside of the village. We prepared a meal using (and fabricating spoons and glasses, although we still have to improve quite a lot!) bamboo to cook, which was both very good and interesting.We then walked back through the villagers’ land, again with great explanation fromChahan, to be picked up and briefly debrief our experience.We cannot recommend this enough, we had a wonderful experience and would simply love to go back!
While this was a unique experience, it was not quite the experience I thought it was going to be. What was supposed to be a 3 hour hike to the tribal village, ended up being 6.5 hours in the jungle. The hike was very challenging, as there were no trails and we were literally trying to maneuver through the jungle. Once we arrived at the village our guide told us he took us the more challenging way because we were “young and fit.” The website also stated that we would be provided filtered water, which was not completely accurate. We received one bottle at the start of the hike and that was it until we returned the next day. Thankfully my husband and I brought our own, as one bottle was not enough for a 6.5 hour hike through the hot jungle. Once we got to the village, we had a great time. The family we stayed with was very generous and friendly, however, no one spoke English. It is very rustic- squat toilet, no electricity and sleeping on a thin mat on the floor. The website did explain the conditions, so I was prepared for that and I feel like it was part of the experience. The following day we requested an easier hike back. We stopped at a village and learned about weaving and basket making.All in all a unique experience but I do not think I would do the overnight again. I would also advise bringing your own water, especially if you will be hiking.