A journey through Thailand's lesser-known north

The north is riddled with caverns and, in dry season, with proper guiding, they make for a spectacular adventure. At Tham Lod in the Pang Ma Pha district between Pai and Mae Hong Son, we wait as our guides pump traditional gas lanterns into action, then follow them into the darkness. They illuminate vast stalactites and stalagmites with dubious similarities to animals and we negotiate sandbag paths and bamboo bridges before boarding narrow rafts on an underground lake.

The gas lamps hiss, and far above us there’s frenzied squealing from colonies of roosting bats. Then we ourselves shriek as huge moustachioed catfish surface alongside us, drawn through the gloom by the patter of pellets we’re throwing into the water. We arrive at a guano-lined staircase and climb to see a teak coffin that proves this complex was a dwelling thousands of years ago.

There’s much more going on underground. Geothermal activity in the wider region means at various places you can stop at a hot spring to soak yourself or boil an egg. At the appropriately named sulphur-smelling Pong Dueat we take a break from the road to see geysers and dip our feet in safer temperatures. Another day, at Phuklon Country Club, we plaster our faces in mineral-rich mud and laugh till it cracks.

T-shirts in the night market rightly boast that getting to the low-key town of Pai from Chiang Mai means traversing a road with 762 hairpin bends. We flop sleepily from side to side in our minibus on our way there but in restaurants en route are rows of resting motorcycle helmets from those taking up the challenge on two wheels.

Our overnight stop in Pai is boutique hotel The Quarter, just a few metres from the market. As the booths offering dreadlock weaves attest, the town is more typically a backpacker haunt. It attracts those looking for a laid-back vibe, cafe culture and glorious mountain views coupled with soft-adventure exploration to the local canyon and caves.

Cream of the crop

Northern Thailand was once an opium-growing stronghold. With royal help, poppy fields have since been repurposed for legal cash crops. I buy some coffee beans resulting from one such project on a visit to Hloyo Village at Mae Salong, home of the Akha hill tribe.

Escorted by a local dog, we walk past carved fertility symbols sporting oversized appendages. Baskets of chillies lie drying on the low thatched roofs and we’ve a chance to grind them to create a side dish for lunch, while our host turns bamboo skewers of roasting tomatoes on a charcoal fire. Within an hour we’re sitting on a mat to eat what turns out to be the favourite meal of our entire trip, bursting with fresh herbs and spices. It’s made extra special by a view over a lush valley that can also be enjoyed from homestays perched around its rim.

The outlook is even better when we stop off at the Ban Jabo hill tribe village. I pick up some colourful handmade make-up bags from roadside stalls then duck into the bustling open-sided cafe that offers road-weary travellers the chance to dangle their legs over an epic sweep of forested valley.