Treehouse Hideaway in Chiang Dao

As part of our 2D/1N tour of northern Chiang Mai, we stayed in a non-typical accommodation called the Tree House Hideaway. It is a house made mostly of timber, bamboo and thatch with views of lush jungle below that gave it the appearance of a treehouse.

Treehouse Hideaway in Chiang Dao.

But it is actually more like a “cliff house”, perch on top of a steep hillside and overlooks the jungle of the Chiang Dao National Park and the village of Mae Mae, a small community of 200 people.

The Tree House Hideaway is located within the remote foothills of the majestic Chiang Dao Mountain range (1.5 hour drive North of Chiang Mai). It is the perfect place for us to stay for the night, after a day of bamboo rafting, visiting hill-tribe village and interacting with rescued elephants at the Lanna Kingdom Elephant Sanctuary. A place for us to get really close to nature.

Access to the Tree House Hideaway is via a narrow and winding paved road, off the main highway from Chiang Mai to Chiang Dao. As the road snaked upwards into the hills, we seemed to be getting further and further away from civilisation. Driving along such roads can be scary for some. Honking every now and then to warn on-coming cars while negotiating blind corners, our skilful and safe driver Boon from Lanna Kingdom Tours ensured that we arrived safely at the Treehouse.

Actually we only encountered one other vehicle coming from the opposite direction during the entire drive up on that mountain road.

The Treehouse Hideaway is not a traditional hotel. The rooms are simple but functional. Flooring in the bedroom consists of bamboo strips laid over the teak wood structural beams.

Each bedroom comes with bath towels, clean bedding, blankets, mosquito net and a small table for our stuff. There are adequate power points for charging our mobile phones and cameras and 2 way switches for the lights.

Mosquito nets are provided but we had no problems with mosquitoes during our stay.

Imagine sleeping in a room overlooking lush jungle, listening to the sound of cicadas and gushing river below.

Our group took the 3 private double bedrooms on one side of the double-storey tree house complex. There are other bedrooms, including a large private family room that could sleep 6 to 8 people, on the other side.

View from our bedroom -  looking back towards the entrance, bathrooms and the lower deck.

Just below the sleeping area, on the lower deck, is a very spacious living area with hammocks, dining tables, coffee tables and a pit fire. The living area has floors with teak planks. We had to walk carefully on bare feet as the planks were a little uneven.

Jungle below the treehouse with palms trees and banana trees having the largest leaves and fronds I ever seen.

Peering down from the deck or bedroom windows, one could see a couple of small huts through the canopy of the trees a few hundred meters below but not the stream that produces a steady burble of running water.

There were already other guests in the treehouse when we arrived, with some relaxing on the few hammocks strung across wooden beams.

The best thing to do after arrival is a hot shower and a relaxing massage before dinner. There are 3 shared toilets cum bathrooms with hot showers in the upper deck of the main tree house structure. We did not expect hotel-style bathrooms in such a remote place so we were not too disappointed with the basic facilities in the bathroom.

Our guide Arm had helped pre-book the massage services for our group before our arrival. Traditional Thai body or leg massages cost 200 Baht per hour.

Thai massage on the deck of the treehouse.

The owners of the tree house cooked and served a simple dinner of local Thai dishes with rice to all guests. They had even arranged for the local village kids to perform a mini and informal dance show for everyone during dinner.

This place would be excellent for star gazing since it is located on high ground and away from the haze and lights found in the city. Unfortunately, the sky was slightly cloudy during our stay. 

Arm and Boon had hinted that they had a “surprise” for us after dinner. They had actually purchased sky lanterns or khom loy for us to release while we were at the local market earlier during our tour. 

These lanterns are normally released during festivals such as Loy Krathong, Yi Peng and New Year’s Eve in Chiang Mai. 

With our wishes written on the sky lanterns, ready to send it towards the heavens.

After writing our wishes on the rice paper lanterns, we went out into the pitch black night with our guides, Arm and Boon, and a few enthusiastic village kids who had stayed back after the dance performance.

The kids played with fireworks supplied by our guides. Since fireworks are banned in my home country, some of the 50-plus year old folks in our group took the opportunity to be kids again. 

We lit the solid fuel attached to the bases of the lanterns and launched the sky lanterns into the night sky. The lanterns were to carry our wishes to heaven and hopefully they would come true.

Preparing the sky lantern for launch.

We also attached a small lit firework to the lantern, to give it an extra boost a few seconds after take-off.

A sky lantern with the burning solid fuel and a small lit firework attached to give it an extra boost halfway during the flight.

This looked like a rocket lifting off into space.

Seeing the smoke trails and lanterns getting smaller and smaller as they soared into the dark sky gave me goose bumps. It looked so much like the space shuttle taking off.

There was still time for some cold beer, local snacks and chit chat at the terrace of the treehouse before turning in for the night. We would be doing a jungle trek the next day after breakfast. The jungle trekking to a waterfall is organised for guests staying at the treehouse and is an activity that is not to be missed.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at the Treehouse Hideaway. As the name implies, this is a place to “hide-away”. No wi-fi, no TV, forget about the outside world. Just fresh air, great views, greenery, get really close to nature (expect to see a few spiders and insects on the walls or ceilings) and good hospitality.  A good place to unwind, take it easy and hang-out with great friends.

Jungle trekking to a waterfall is organised for guests staying at the Treehouse Hideaway.

Next post : Jungle trekking in Chiang Dao National Park.

Side note:

There is actually a small tree house next to the tree house complex where we stayed. It is open for us to explore but not a place for guests to stay overnight.