THAILAND

THAILAND

Think Thailand and you conjure images of pristine white beaches and palm trees, right? Going for a dip in brilliantly blue calm waters, or drinking cocktails and eating deliciously ripe mangoes as you contemplate a massage. Well, while that side of Thailand has its obvious attractions, there is so much more to be explored in this captivating country.

In Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai and its surrounds offer an altogether different experience. Thanks to the area’s history and proximity to its neighbours, the food, architecture, clothing and markets are all quite distinct from their southern counterparts. Throw in Northern Thailand’s hilly geography, which includes the country’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, and the differences continue. Opportunities for outdoor activities like hiking, cycling and rafting abound.

Around Bangkok, historical sites like Ayutthaya offer a fascinating cultural experience, and in the capital itself, areas ranging from Chinatown to Khao San Road mean there’s something for everyone.

Jump in and start exploring!

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Hey there hikers, and welcome to everyone who’s

Hey there hikers, and welcome to everyone who’s joined us in the last few days 👋🏻

Seeing as you love our Norway hiking huts video so much, here’s some more info about the wonderful Troms Border Trail and the huts along the way. Swipe to see more ➡️

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐌𝐬 ✨

#NorwayHiking #HikingTrails #Norway #ArcticTrail #HutToHutHiking

🗺️ The Troms Border Trail is a ~180 km wilderness hike weaving between the borders of Arctic Norway, Sweden and Finland. It starts near Abisko (the northern trailhead for the famous Kungsleden Trail) in Sweden and ends at Kilpisjärvi in Finland. It’s also part of the much longer Arctic Trail and Green Ribbon trail. It takes an average of 10 days to complete.

🌡️ The hiking season runs from mid-June to mid-September. Even in the peak summer months of July and August you can expect to meet just a handful of fellow hikers each day.

⛺/🏠 You can wild camp along the trail (in line with Norway, Sweden and Finland’s ‘Right to Roam’) or stay in a cosy DNT (@turistforeningen) cabin every night.

🛏️ The self-service cabins have fully equipped kitchens, log burners with a supply of wood, outhouse toilet facilities, and comfortable dorm-style beds. They have pillows and duvets, but you must bring your own sleeping liner.

🗝️ You need a special key to unlock the cabins, which you can get by joining the DNT. Members get 50% discounts on stays, working out at 250 NOK per night – about £20 – for adults over 26 (it’s even cheaper for younger members!). There are rules and obligations when using the huts, so be sure to follow them.

🍲 There is NOWHERE to resupply along the trail so you must bring all your food with you from the start, and it’s wise to pack an extra day’s food *just in case*. You can buy lightweight dehydrated meals at stores at each of the trailheads.

🫐 You can also forage for cloudberries (yum!) and blueberries along the way.

💧 Natural water sources are plentiful, and there is a designated water source at each of the DNT huts

🏔️ The hike is of moderat

Norway’s hiking huts are BRILLIANT We experienc

Norway’s hiking huts are BRILLIANT

We experienced them for the first time on our 180 km Troms Border Trail hike through the Arctic wilderness, and were pretty blown away by how cosy, functional and affordable they are. We’d joined the DNT (@turistforeningen) before setting off and picked up the magic key that unlocks the cabins. We had our tent with us and planned on wild camping too, but after stepping into the first hut on Day 1, we surrendered to the hygge.

We stayed in 9 different huts, some cute and cosy, others modern and really quite luxurious with MASSIVE picture windows for enjoying nature’s TV. Every hut had a fully equipped kitchen with a gas hob, plus a wood-burning stove and log supply so we could get warm and dry after hiking in the rain. The bunk beds were really comfortable, with duvets and pillows – we just had to use our own sleeping liner.

We loved the hut experience so much that we stayed two nights in some, waiting out bad weather and just enjoying the surroundings.

If this sounds like your kind of hiking holiday, comment GUIDE and we’ll send you a link to our free trail guide on the blog, with everything you need to plan your own hut-to-hut hike in the Arctic Circle.

#NorwayHiking #HikingTrails #Norway #ArcticTrail #HutToHutHiking

With a cosy cabin to call home every night, how do

With a cosy cabin to call home every night, how does a remote 10-day hike through the Arctic wilderness sound? Pretty good? Then the Troms Border Trail is for you.

180 km weaving through the border regions of northern Norway, Sweden and Finland – far from any roads, resupply points, or accommodation – connected by a wonderful network of fully kitted-out DNT hiking huts.

Phone signal disappears after Day 3, just as reindeer, fox and white-tailed eagle sightings appear (if you’re lucky!). Blueberry and cloudberry patches pop up by the trailside every now and again, offering a welcome juicy snack. Fellow hikers pass by occasionally, a chance to stop for a conversation and share trail updates or perhaps a weather forecast, before wishing each other well and carrying on in splendid isolation.

We found this trail such a pleasure to walk – days spent in a vast wilderness, without the hike ever feeling too challenging (besides the initially heavy bags, stuffed with 10+ days’ worth of food!). The huts added a whole new dimension to a multi-day hike, bringing warmth, comfort and cosiness at the end of each day. What a treat to dry our wet clothes by the fire and coorie in with a cuppa, watching the rain lash down outside.

If you’d like to see more of our Troms hike experience, comment TROMS below and we’ll send you a link to our 30-minute ambient hiking film.

#NorwayHiking #HikingTrails #Norway #ArcticTrail #HutToHutHiking

First, I spotted just one, prancing across the hil

First, I spotted just one, prancing across the hillside ahead of us.

Del was walking a little further on, and I was frantically trying to get his attention without making too much noise. Little did I know this lone reindeer was actually part of a huge herd, about to come into view just around the bend, grazing on a snow patch that had lingered long into summer.

My mouth was agape in awe as we sat and watched them for twenty minutes or so. Every now and again the herd would start trotting in unison, hooves kicking up snow into a waterfall-like chorus echoing through the valley, punctuated by snorting and grunting.

We saw many more reindeer during our 180 km Troms Border Trail hike in the Arctic Circle, but this was undoubtedly the highlight.

Did you spot the suckling calf and the all-white reindeer?

Spotted on Stage 4, between DNT Gåskashytta and DNT Vuomahytta.

@turistforeningen

#Norway #HikingTrails #ArcticTrail #Reindeer #HutToHutHiking

Have you done hut-to-hut hiking before? Our firs

Have you done hut-to-hut hiking before?

Our first experience was on a 180 km wilderness trail in the Arctic Circle, through remote areas of far northern Sweden, Norway and Finland – it was AMAZING. We hadn’t planned to stay in the huts every night (we had our tent with us), but after stepping into our first Norwegian DNT cabin, we were hooked on the comfort, cosiness, and ease of having a hut to call home each night.

🏠These huts have fully kitted out kitchens with gas hobs, crockery and utensils, a designated spot nearby to fetch water, comfy sofas and dining tables, a wood-burning stove with a supply of logs, and beds with mattresses, pillows and duvets (you just bring your own liner). There’s a wash room and outhouse toilets too. They’re also seriously stylish, with a classic Scandi aesthetic and often HUGE picture windows to enjoy nature’s TV. Utter luxury compared to wild camping for 11 days! And great value too, at about £18 a night for DNT members – you need to become a member to get the magic key that unlocks all the cabins 🔑

🧭The trail we did is called the Troms Border Trail, part of the longer Arctic Trail (Nordkalottleden) and Green Ribbon (Gröna Bandet) route through Scandinavia. There’s nowhere to resupply and no facilities beyond the self-service huts, so we had to carry all our food and be fully self-sufficient throughout. It was such a freeing experience to be out in remote nature for nearly two weeks, picking wild blueberries and cloudberries along the way, and spotting herds of reindeer, a couple of white-tailed eagles, and a fox. Most days we only saw a few people, sometimes nobody at all. A proper reset for the mind. And physically, a much less demanding trail than the Lofoten Long Crossing, which we’d completed just the week before.

🥾 If this sounds like a hike you might enjoy, comment TROMS below and we’ll send you a link to our ambient hiking video, so you can see what the experience is really like.

@turistforeningen @visitnorway

#NorwayHiking #HikingTrails #Norway #ArcticTrail #HutToHutHiking

Scenes from the Lofoten Long Crossing – the dram

Scenes from the Lofoten Long Crossing – the dramatic landscapes and moments that make this trail unforgettable 🥾🗻

Which is your favourite?

Want to see it all come together? Comment “FILM” and we’ll send you the link to our full-length video of the Lofoten Long Crossing.

Keen to hike the route yourself? Comment “GUIDE” and we’ll send you our complete run-down of everything you need to know.

#Lofoten #NorwayHiking #LofotenLongCrossing #HikingTrails #Norway

📍Ridge from Matmora to the Delpen plateau, Austvågøya

📍The eastern coast of Flakstadøya

📍Hiking the ridge from Matmora to Delp, Austvågøya

📍Rest stop with a view on Moskenesøya

📍Kvalvika Beach, Moskenesøya

📍Hiking the plateau below Dalstuva, on Vestvågøya

📍Morning pack-up at Horseid Beach, Moskenesøya

📍Cloudfalls on Vestvågøya seen from Dalstuva

📍Mountain pass on Moskenesøya

📍Morning calm on Vestervika Beach

📍Hiking the rocky landscape of Flakstadøya

📍The dramatic Horseid Beach on Moskenesøya

📍Lake dotted plateau on Vestvågøya

📍Climbing the stone steps from Kvalvika Beach, Moskenesøya

📍Looking down over Djupfjord on Moskenesøya