Pai: Hiking to Mae Yen Falls

We decided to hike to Mae Yen Waterfall as it is one of the few hikes that can be done out of Pai without the need to hire a bike or moped. It's a fair hike though, 9km from the town center to the falls.

We set off from Pai in the late morning after eating breakfast in the slowest restaurant in the whole of Pai, where plates were painstakingly cooked one at a time. A short walk out of town and the concrete path was soon replaced with a mud path that cut across the rice paddies at the foot of the mountains. At the end of the mud path is a parking area for those lazy souls who didn't walk the whole way, from here it's an adventurous 7km hike through thick jungle to reach the waterfall.

The path crisscrossed a stream for most of the 7km before climbing steeply up a slippery bank. It was a beautiful shaded walk under a thick canopy of jungle and we were privileged (and slightly alarmed) to spot a 2m copperhead rat snake slither into the river right in front of us.

Sliding down a steep muddy bank in flip flops, no problem.

The waterfall, although beautiful, was not the highlight of the trip. Unfortunately, instead of suggesting tourists carry their litter out of the jungle with them, two huge black bin bags sat overflowing with empty water bottles, food wrappers and decaying half eaten fruit. Where there is food, there are flies; the area around the waterfall was swarming with them. We took a quick refreshing dip in the small pool at the base of the falls before hotfooting it out of there away from the infestation.

Mae Yen Waterfall.

Just after setting off away from the waterfall we were alarmed to hear voices calling for help. Two Dutch girls had taken a wrong turn and wandered down the wrong side of the mountain. To us it was clear that the overgrown path they'd taken was not the way we'd come, but it served as a reminder for us to take care, especially as the sun had already dipped behind the mountains and we still had a 9km walk back to our hotel.

We emerged from the jungle just in time to see the sun set and walked back along the mud path in darkness. 

Hike Facts:

Total distance: 18km from Pai center. 14km if you drive to the end of the mud road.

Total time: 3 hours 15 minutes from town to the falls, going at a slow-medium pace.

Difficulty: low - only one steep climb of about 100m.

Footwear: as most of the time you will be walking in the stream, don't wear your best leather boots! Trainers or walking sandals are best, although Ric did it in flip flops as usual.