About an hour and a half moped drive north of Chiang Mai, Thailand, you’ll come across the Bua Tong Waterfall:
The claim to fame for this waterfall isn’t the height or water volume, but instead for a unique natural feature. There is an incredibly grippy mineral deposit in the limestone, allowing you to climb straight up the rock face with your bare hands!
This is without a doubt one of the more unique experiences you can have in Thailand, and was one of the few things we went out of our way to do a second time on this trip – like our boat ride with Charlie, we came here before on our 2018 honeymoon but just had to do this again as well.
It seems the sticky waterfall is becoming more “well known” among travelers to Chiang Mai these days – the area at the top is more built-up, there are more safety barriers and ropes installed to assist with climbing, and there were more other tourists there when we visited this time. On the bright side, what used to be a drive through a remote rural area now has several new coffee shops and restaurants to stop at – of course we did:
This is 100% worth a day trip during your visit to Chiang Mai. Either rent a moped (very available in the city) and drive yourself or hire a taxi driver to take you out and back.
A final note – while climbing the waterfall is no doubt fun for adults, we noticed several families with children (5-7yo and up) having a blast as well. This is definitely an all-ages activity!
