Chiang Mai: Sticky Waterfall Climbing & Half-Day Tour Pickup

4.82

(244 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll be honest, I almost missed the van because I’d underestimated Chiang Mai’s morning traffic — ended up jogging the last block with my flip-flops slapping. Our driver grinned when I arrived, a little out of breath, and just waved me into the air-conditioned van like it was no big deal. The drive out to Bua Tong Sticky Waterfall took about an hour, but it didn’t feel long; we passed rice paddies and little roadside stalls selling fruit that looked like tiny green lanterns. Someone in the back asked if the “sticky” part was real or just a name. Our guide (I think her name was May?) laughed and said, “You’ll see — don’t worry about slipping.”

The first thing that hit me at the waterfall wasn’t the view — it was this cool, mineral smell mixed with wet leaves. There were families picnicking nearby and kids shouting in Thai. The rocks looked almost chalky white under all that rushing water. When I stepped on them, they really did grip my feet — not slippery at all, kind of weirdly gritty? We started climbing up together, water splashing everywhere. At one point I lost my balance and grabbed a root sticking out of the side; May called out something encouraging but I only caught half of it over the sound of water. It felt silly but also sort of freeing to just scramble up like that without shoes.

I didn’t expect to laugh so much — every time someone slipped (not far, just a little), everyone else would cheer or clap. There was this old uncle from Bangkok who kept joking he was “the mountain goat now.” I still think about how cold that spring water felt on my arms after we made it to one of the higher tiers; you could look down through the trees and see sunlight flickering off all those pools below. We hung around for a while before heading back to Chiang Mai — legs tired but in that good way.