The trekking industry in Chiang Mai is big business, with over 200 agencies competing for customers. Most treks follow a standard pattern and include an elephant ride, a bamboo raft trip and a degree of walking.

Agencies that provide a more original service, cater to more specific interests, such as bird-spotting, or can create bespoke day and multiday trips include: Trekking Collective, 3/5 Thanon Loy Kroh (tel: (053) 208 340; website: www.trekkingcollective.com); Lisu Lodge, based 50km (31 miles) outside Chiang Mai but with an office at 172/1-11 Thanon Loi Khro (tel: (053) 281 789; website: www.lisulodge.com); and Eagle House, 16 Thanon Chang Moi Gao, Soi 3 (tel: (053) 874 126; website: www.eaglehouse.com).

For mountain bike excursions try Velocity, 177 Thanon Chang Phuak (tel: (053) 410 665). Contact Travel, 73/7 Thanon Charoen Prathet (tel: (053) 277 178; website: www.activethailand.com) represent Northern Trails (website: www.northerntrails.com), who also organise mountain bike trips, and Thai Adventure Rafting, who run two-day white-water trips on the Pai River.

Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures, 55/3 Thanon Ratchaphakinai (website: www.thailandclimbing.com), organise caving and climbing trips in the region, including excursions to the limestone cliffs known as Crazy Horse Buttress, 20km (12 miles) east of Chiang Mai. Flight of the Gibbon (tel: 0899 705 511; website: www.treetopasia.com) offers exhilarating rainforest canopy tours with zip-lines and treetop platforms.