#29 Sunrise bird watching, nighttime waterhole and mountain community

2½ days, medium
Motor sampan, traditional rowing boat, trekking

	Highlights	You may also see...
	Mountain community. Ancient burial jars. Silver Meadow. Waterhole (dusk and dawn). Two nights in the forest. Traditional rowing boat. Sunrise bird watching.
Sunrise bird watching		Forest animals	Birds	Other

This tour has everything!

Loom Stream mountain community has banana plantations visited by elephants, and 500 year-old burial jars from a lost civilization whose descendants may still live in the area.

Continue to Betel Nut waterfall for lunch and a swim, then return via Silver Meadow to Little Haven forest shelter. Wait for nightfall to visit the waterhole (which may be dry in some months). Even if you see no animals, your guides will help you spot and identify any tracks. Sleep in a comfortable hammock, with net.

On day two, visit the waterhole again at dawn, then trek through the forest to Island Lodge forest shelter for another night. In the morning, start early to ride a traditional rowing boat to watch birds as the sun rises over the hillsides, then return by motor-sampan to Chi Phat for lunch.

Statistics

Duration	2½ days
Grade	Medium
Boat distance	22 km
Trekking / cycling distance	39 km
Start time	07:30
End time (without optional extras)	12:00
Latest booking time	16:00

Includes

Boats and drivers, guide and cook. Water, life vest, binoculars. Backpack, hammock with net. Meals (d1: L, D; d2: B, L, D; d3: B).

Does not include

Lunch on the last day.

Price

Groups of three or more: $80 per person.
Small group supplement (two persons): $10 per person.
Solo supplement: $70.

Similar

A similar tour follows the same route, but in reverse order.
On this tour, you leave your forest camp on the last morning to start bird watching nearby, then return to Chi Phat by boat early to recover from the two early starts, but miss out on High Waterfall.
On the similar tour, you start early from Chi Phat, watch birds after a 2-hour boat ride, then continue trekking. The end of that tour is downhill, and you have the option to visit High Waterfall or Bodhi Tree rapids just before returning to Chi Phat.

Easier

Sunrise bird watching (half-day boat ride) requires no trekking.
Sunrise bird watching (2-day boat and trek) omits Loom Stream mountain community.

Harder

Walk on the Wild Side and Ten rivers are 4-day treks.
Deep in the forest is a 7-day trek.
Intrepid trekkers can patrol with the forest rangers.

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