Hiking and Trekking in Pattaya

If you are like me and can’t stand being cooped up in the room throughout the
day but also don’t feel like riding around in circles on the baht bus, there are
quite a few cool places that you can go hiking/trekking in Pattaya that you
should check out.

Hiking

Khao Chi Hon (No Hunting) Wildlife Area

If you are one of the lucky ones that have a vehicle, there is a really awesome spot just past Silverlake Vineyard (about a kilometre) on the right-hand side.
The entrance to the nature reserve is easy to miss if you are driving too fast.
Enter and park your vehicle and explore the area until your adventure cup is
full.

The area has a number of different sized lakes and if you are lucky you may even get to spot some wildlife while you are wandering around. This is my go-to spot when I am completely bored out of my mind and need to escape it all for a bit.

Pratumnak Hill

Scattered throughout Pratumnak are kilometres and kilometres of walking, hiking
and biking trails. Almost all of the trails are shaded by forest overgrowth and
though there are some scattered dogs here and there, they don’t bother anyone
for the most part.

Throughout the trails, there are a number of interval fitness stations for doing callisthenics and pull-ups etc. Pratumnak is pretty big, though it may not feel like it. Walking along the trails on the hill will take you passed several Pattaya places of note to include Big Buddha, the Pattaya city sign, and several iconic lookout points over the city.

Wandering Around Koh Lan

If you have a full free day and want to do some exploring without worrying about getting lost, jump the ferry from Bali Hai over to Koh Lan island and spend the day wandering around.

Koh Lan has several beautiful beaches and is set up like a sleepy little town, though the area is often packed with tourists. There are several lookout points on Koh Lan that are accessible by foot and offer some spectacular displays of Pattaya city off in the distance.

Khao Mai Kaew (KMK) Reservation Park

Located in Banglamung, just a short drive from Pattaya, is the Khao Mai Kaew reservation park. This is a popular area for trail runners and hashing groups. That being said, it is not uncommon to run into other people while you are hiking around the area on occasion.

Khao Mai Kaew is a decent place to explore with some fairly long trails (8-10km) for you to run around and take out your aggression on. Not in the mood to tackle the trail by yourself? Contact one of the local hashing groups and see if they have any trail runs coming up. Pattaya has a few different hashing groups now that do runs on different days of the month The Pattaya Hash House Harriers and Pattaya Jungle H3 seem to be the two biggest at the moment.

Trekking

If you aren’t into the whole fitness thing, there are a few companies in Pattaya that offer paid trekking and jungle excursions that don’t require you to use your feet at all.

Elephant Trekking

Pattaya Elephant Village – The Pattaya Elephant Village has been in operation since 1973 as a place for retired working elephants who can no longer work to spend the rest of their days. Due to the diminishing of the elephant’s natural habitat and the fact that these animals have been domesticated for most of their lives, it is not feasible to return them to the wild.

The park provides the animals with a safe haven to spend the rest of their days in dignity and without fear. Having been on the elephant trek, I can also say that there were no areas where the animals we were riding were walking on the pavement. The trails and rivers they take you through on the trek are the same kinds of trails the elephants would have in their natural habitat.

At all times the mahouts treated their elephants with respect and shared a friendly bond with them. Even if you don’t ride on an elephant through the trails and river, you can always go spend a day doing the other various activities offered at the venue.

ATV/Dirtbike Trekking

Enduro Madness – Enduro Madness offers a multitude of different offroad vehicle experiences. If trekking with a little speed is what you are looking for, they have trails for every experience level from beginners to expert and their tours include a complimentary minibus ride out to the location.

The company only uses the finest equipment and mechanics and has trails designated exclusively for them. They also offer English speaking guides for anyone worried about the language barriers here in Thailand.

Whether it is your first time on a bike or you are a professional stunt rider for the movies, it is almost guaranteed that they will have something that can get you smiling in no time.

The venue is great for small to large groups. Got a significant other? They even can arrange a romantic trek for two if that is what you are into. If you feel like trekking, but don’t feel like getting out there and hiking on your own, give them a buzz and set something up.