As a tributary of the Ping River, one of the two main contributors of the Chao Phraya River, Mae Taeng River is unique for its beautiful surroundings and ethnic villages around. Sitting between Chiang Dao Nature Preserve and Huai Nam Dang Ntional Park, the river is now the hottest drifting place in Thailand.

Flowing through Mae Taeng Valley, Mae Taeng River is a tributary of Chao Phraya River’s one major contributor, the Ping River. It is 90 minutes north of Chiang Mai and nestled between Chiang Dao and Huai Nam Dang National Park.

Around that area, there are many ethnic villages being settled. Rolling hills and well-growing plantations are providing a perfect place for people to live; and, thousands of years, ethnic people there had been in a plain yet quiet life till the invasion of modern tourism industry. In fact, Chiang Mai is regarded as one of the best places for a trek in Thailand, for there are a huge collection of dense forests. Trees are wildly growing in this area; their crowns woven with each other and could almost cover the sky.

Walking across the wild jungle to have some fresh air, on the top of the hill, visitors can see roaring Mae Taeng River runs from south to north, head to Burma and will end in the gulf of Thailand. Snow white waves appear in the river when it hits the bank; and that’s why the river also got a nick-name as “White Water”.

After downed from the hill, visitors will have a cruise on the river by a bamboo raft; where they can see other tourists who are still busy in hiking or elephant-riding and enjoy the peace and moving beauty of the river’s surroundings. Some guide would even encourage visitors to steer the raft for fun.

Recent years, the hottest project of Mae Taeng River is drifting. For its scenic surroundings and not-really-fast flow, Mae Taeng River drifting is actually quite popular within all tourists.