Mae Sot is described as a Burmese-Chinese-Karen-Thai trading outpost. Market places within the town sell all sorts of goods including caged birds, live fish and eels.

Rebel soldiers, Burmese spies, mercenaries, UN staff and volunteers mix together in the streets. The town is three kilometres from the Burmese border.

Getting to Mae Sot

Train from Bangkok to Phitsanulok, then bus to Sukhothai. Regular mini-vans from Sukhothai run to Mae Sot via Tak.

Another option is a direct bus from Bangkok to Mae Sot – about 9 hours. However, this is an option that I'd avoid. Long hours on buses in Thailand are not fun and it will mean you miss some great scenery as these bus trips will be during the night.

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Although independent travel via car is possible it is easiest to book a tour in Mae Sot at one of the guest houses.

The village of Umphang is 165 kilometres south of Mae Sot, at the end of the Route 1090, the “Death Highway”. The serpentine road acquired its dubious nickname because some 600 workers died during its construction. Some of them were ambushed by Thai communists, or insurgents from the Karen and Hmong hill-tribe living in the area, who saw the road as a threat to their seclusion. Fortunately the attacks stopped by the mid-Eighties when the Thai government offered amnesties to communist renegades.

Begun in 1968 and finished in 1987, the road, with its 1,219 bends and switchbacks still lives up to its name. And off to the west of the road, the Karen are still fighting the longest-running civil war in history against their Burmese oppressors.

After a day of rafting, organised tours will establish camp for a night at the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, close to Thailand’s largest waterfall – Nam Tok Thilawsu. (note spelling will vary)

In 1999, the sanctuary was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and forms one of the largest continuous forests of this type in Southeast Asia.

Most of the tours, lasting three days and two nights, include stopovers at the sanctuary and waterfall, along with elephant riding and off-the-beaten-track outings to rarely visited hill-tribe villages.

I'd suggest a minimum of a three-day tour. It takes the best part of a day to travel to UmPhang and back so this only leaves a day to do some rafting and walking. A four-day tour allows more time to explore this remote region of Thailand.

Tip: During the warmer months remember to take good insect repellents. This area is well known for outbreaks of malaria. I visited in January and the weather was cool and there was a reasonable amount of water for rafting.

Further wildlife information on Thailand.

Other treks in Thailand and preparation.

IUCN information on adjoining gazetted world heritage sites.