Kyaingtong’s hill tribes & hill stations

The Shan hills surrounding Kyaingtong are home to a variety of ethnic tribes including Khun, Ann, Wa, Shan, Akha, Palaung and Lahu villages. Your guide will be able to suggest the best itinerary for you depending on how far you wish to travel and your stamina. A typical day's trekking in the area involves an hour's drive through scenic countryside and rice fields to a small Lahu village before an hour's walk up into the hills to an Akha tribe.

It's better to arrive late morning as many of the villagers will be out in the fields. It's quite common to be invited into the home of the village Shaman, who'll offer tea and a recital of the tribe's traditional music.

One of the most traditional villages around Kyaingtong is Pan-Kwai on Hokyin mountain. If you wish to include this in your itinerary it's worth suggesting to your guide on arrival so they can plan your trekking adventure around this. The village lies approximately an hour and a half drive from Kyaingtong toward Tachileik. Be warned that the roads in this area are very bumpy.