Ban Huai Hee
Half an hour away from downtown Mae Hong Son, when visiting Ban Huai Hee, a small mountainous community situated 1,722 meters high above the sea level, encompassed with steep and lofty mountains, and complex forests, travelers will feel as if they have slipped into another world because of its year-round cool and pleasant weather and the traditional lifestyle of Paka-Kyaw people.
Visitors will get to closely experience Paka-Kyaw’s traditional way of life and beliefs, learn to live in harmony with nature because the local food are made of natural raw ingredients, and discover the traditional local wisdom in rotational agriculture passed down generations, regarded as the prototype of local wisdom, particularly plants like rice, corn, melon, bamboo, chillies, and lettuce. A homestay experience with the locals also allows travelers to learn more about natural dyeing, steel forging, agricultural equipment making, bamboo wickerworks, and Ban Huai Hee’s processes to achieve fine rice such as pounding with a stone mortar or cooking with firewood.
By experiencing, learning and gaining a better understanding that these local ways of life are yet so pure, rarely modified, or disturbed by the world outside, it naturally urges travelers to help preserve these values and the community alongside the forest and the natural stream upon the lofty mountain, as the name Ban Huai Hee suggests a home with a creek and bamboo trees.
Highlight Activities
- Experience Paka-Kyaw’s traditional way of life and beliefs.
- Learn the traditional local wisdom in rotational agriculture.
- Try a homestay experience among the locals to deeply learn various aspects of local wisdom.
Best Time to Visit
- All seasons. Winter time recommended (October to December) when various kinds of flowers bloom on the mountain top. Also during August to October when rice fields turn verdant (check the weather before traveling).
