Not too long ago, some friends and

Not too long ago, some friends and I headed to one of my favorite places in Thailand and probably all of Southeast Asia, the city of Chiang Mai. The mountain town is Thailand’s hub for adventure – anything from whitewater rafting to ziplining over the jungle canopy to trekking through the mountains on an elephant, Chiang Mai is the place. So, when one of my friends who had lived in the city for a year said, “Hey, do you guys want to hike down a sweet mountain waterfall that’s not in any of the guide books, but definitely should be? It’s not too far out of town and the locals all love it – they call it ‘the Sticky Falls,’“ I was immediately sold.
Chiang Mai's Bua Tong Waterfall National Park
Entrance sign at Bua Tong Waterfall National Park
After a little over an hour of driving out of town and into the mountains, we arrived at the “Bua Tong Waterfall and Rainbow Spring Forest Park,” and just like my friend had said, there were no tourists, no foreigners but us.
The little park was well maintained but barely built up at all, just an open grass area, a bathroom, a tiki hut serving drinks and ice cream, and one or two other buildings. No gift shop or tacky souvenir booths, just locals picnicking on the grass and exploring the waterfall.
Signs pointed the way to a little trail that led us to the beginning of the falls, and it quickly became apparent why they were called “sticky falls” by the locals.
Thailand - Chiang Mai's Bua Tong Waterfall
Looking down from the top of the waterfall’s first tier.

The Bua Tong Waterfall is actually a series of horsetail falls (water flowing over rocks without cascading or abruptly dropping) that cut through the jungle landscape, but what makes them unique is that they flow over tiers of porous limestone. Water is constantly rushing over the limestone, but the surface of the limestone has an almost sticky feel that creates great traction with skin. As a result, you can walk down the falls as if there were no water at all.
Chiang Mai waterfall - Bua Tong "Sticky Falls"
Making our way down the falls.
Chiang Mai "sticky falls" - Bua Tong Waterfall
Looking up at one tier of the “sticky falls” from below.








The waterfall consists of 3 or 4 tiers of falls with flat stretches of streams in between, and our group had a great time climbing up and down the falls, feeling more secure on the sticky limestone than I usually do climbing dry granite. It was truly incredible. Plus, Chiang Mai’s balmy mountain climate was perfect for splashing down the drenched mountainside.
The last tier is steeper and longer than the ones before, but by the time we got to it everyone in the group had had enough practice to feel confident making the drenched descent. It even made a great place to grab a few photos.
Thailand - Bua Tong limestone waterfall - Chiang Mai
Water cascading over the porous limestone of Chiang Mai’s Bua Tong Waterfall.
Locals playing at the Bua Tong "Stick Falls" - Thailand
A local Thai woman plays with her child in a pool at the bottom of the “Sticky Falls.”









After an hour or two of climbing trees and tramping up and down the falls, we made our way back up the limestone falls to the grassy area near the park entrance and grabbed a Thai tea from the tiki hut before heading down the mountain back to town. Ah, bliss.