Mae Charim National Park ‘Get along Wa Stream in a rubber boat.’

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If you’re planning for a holiday with your friends, then let’s get all of you to this marvellous place, Mae Charim National Park.

Let’s skip shopping malls for a while, as you may have been to them so many times. Let’s get your gang to relax in the middle of forest instead.

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mae charim national park, mae chrim national park, mae charim national park in nan, mae chrim national park in nan

Details of Mae Charim National Park

Mr.Witthaya Hongwiangchan, the leader of Doi Phu Ka National Park, found a nice forest between Doi Phu Ka National Park and Sri Nan National Park in 1994. For that reason, he informed Department of National Park through a document. Fortunately, the Department liked what he said and started to explore the forest. As there were many animals and plentiful trees, the Department believed that this could be a perfect national park. Then the Board started to consider all this until the forest became ‘Mae Charim National Park’.

Seriously, the national park is super gorgeous. There are many types of forests there: rain forest, semi-evergreen forest, montane forest, pine forest, mixed forest, and deciduous dipterocarp forest.

Mae Charim national park is 432 square kilometres large. The area takes place in Mae Charim County and Wiang Sa County.

Most of the area are high mountains, with Doi Khun Lan as the highest one(1,652 metres higher than the sea level).

What you will love there most is ‘rubber boat paddling’. This is the top must-do activity for all tourists. You and your friends shouldn’t leave the national park unless you do this first.

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mae charim national park, mae chrim national park, mae charim national park in nan, mae chrim national park in nan

You guys will paddle a rubber boat in Wa Stream. There are two different routes for doing so.

  1. From Ban Nam Poo(Mae Charim) to Ban Had Rai(Wiang Sa). This first route takes 19.2 kilometres.
  2. From the office of the national park to The Elephant Camp. The second route takes 15 kilometres. The whole trip will be 2-3 hours.

Boat paddling is a kind of exercise. Therefore, your body condition must be perfect, as you will be in the middle of water. If you feel suddenly bad, you may not be able to get to the shore on time.

For the safety, don’t worry. You and all of your friends will get life jackets. Just wear them all the time. Don’t take them off until you guys reach the shore.

Beside of being and exercise, boat paddling will make you feel extremely relaxed. There are trees and water along the way you go. Just go slowly, no need to hurry. Paddle your boat leisurely while looking at birds and green things around you.

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mae charim national park, mae chrim national park, mae charim national park in nan, mae chrim national park in nan

If you’re done with your boat paddling, your next suggested activity is hiking. This is perfect for gettng an exercise and sightseeing.  There are several routes for it.

  1. Walking up to the mountain top of Yod Pha Nho, which is about 824 metres higher then the sea level. The whole route is 8 kilometres long.
  2. Walking from the national park office to the edge of Wa River. This is a short hiking trip, which takes only 1 hour and 2 kilometres.
  3. Walking from Ban Nam Pang to Ban Rom Klao. It takes about 8 kilometres. On your way, you will see lots of cute little birds. Be sure to prepare your spyglass, binoculars, or your camera.

Facility

There is a restaurant at Mae Charim national park. You can get there to eat anytime, from 8:30-16:30.

Admission Fee

A Thai Tourist: 40 Baht(Adult) , 20 Baht(Child)

A Foreign Tourist: 200 Baht(Adult) , 100 Baht(Child)

How to get there

You can choose any of these two routes to get there.

1.) You need to be in Phrae first. Go pass Wiang Sa County and keep going along Ban Lai Nan, Ban Boon Ruang, and Ban Na Sa. After thatm just turn right to Ban Ta Kham Ban Pa Koong, and Ban Huai Son. Then turn left to Mae Charim and head for Ban Huai Sai Moon. Be patient. Just turn right for the last time and you will reach the national park.

2.) You can even get to the national park by starting in Nan Province. You need to cross Nan River Bridge. Try to drive along the Highway 1168. For a while, just turn left and go pass Wat Phra That Chae Haeng. Then get to Nan-Mae Charim Highway and continue straight for about 38 kilometres. After that, follow the Highway 1243 for about 15 kilometres. Finally, you will reach Ban Huai Sai Moon. From that point, just turn left to get to the national park.