As we head into the mountains from Chiang mai we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop past Buatong waterfall. We aren’t waterfall chasers by any means, but the calcium rich stream above gives this waterfall the nickname ‘sticky waterfall’. In fact the waterfall is so sticky you can walk right up it. Walking up a waterfall? Get me there immediately.
Buatong waterfall is surrounded by forest and full of groups of Thai families picnicking. A series of narrow staircase leads us to the bottom of the waterfall. The water looks almost milky, and thanks to the calcium the rocks aren’t smooth which means there is practically no algae. By the time we reach the bottom of the waterfall there isn’t anyone else around and while we’ve read all about walking up the waterfall on the Internet it doesn’t really seem possible.
After taking a few tentative steps, we decide to start our waterfall walk a few levels higher. Here we find a sweet Thai lady with her children sitting in the middle of the waterfall who explains what to do and gives us the confidence to start. We decide to go one at a time, since the other person needs to look after all of our stuff/run madly up the stairs beside the waterfall to take pictures. The floor of the waterfall feels like pumice stone, remarkably we don’t get too wet from our walk (which is lucky since we walked in clothes).
