Bua Tong, the Sticky Waterfall near Chiang Mai

The Sticky Waterfall is Nam Tok Bua Tong, in Mae Ho Phra subdistrict of Mae Taeng district, about 53 km north of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s Department of National Parks runs it, with the spring that feeds it, as Namtok Bua Tong - Nam Phu Chet Si National Park, still marked “in preparation”, which means it has not yet been formally declared. It is open every day from 8 am to 5 pm, public holidays included, and closes for one day every year on 30 September. The park’s own posts describe entry as free (checked November 2026). The water carries dissolved limestone that keeps coating the rock in a rough crust, which is why you can walk up the falls.

The park at a glance

The park began as a forest park, set up by the Royal Forest Department in 1994, which is why older guides call it the Buatong Waterfall and Jedsee Fountain Forest Park. In 2022 the national parks department held a public hearing on making it a national park of about 85 square kilometres, covering forest in Mae Taeng and San Sai districts. The park’s posts describe entry as free; the department’s rule puts a newly declared park in its lowest fee group, so a fee may come once Bua Tong is declared. Call before you plan around it.

Where it is

The falls lie north-east of Mae Taeng, off Highway 1001, the road from Chiang Mai to Phrao. Dantewada and Wat Ban Den, the two stops most day trips add, are near Mae Taeng to the north-west.

Why you can walk up it

Bua Tong is a limestone stream. Rain and ground water pick up carbon dioxide, become weakly acidic and dissolve calcium carbonate out of the limestone underground. When the water comes out at the spring and runs over the falls, the carbon dioxide escapes and the calcium carbonate settles back out as a crust. Thailand’s mines department calls the crust tufa, and travertine, or freshwater limestone, where it builds up thick. Because the deposit keeps forming, the rock never turns slick: the national parks department describes the surface as rough and coarse, not slippery, and puts it plainly: visitors can walk on the falls.

The falls drop in four tiers over a total length of about 280 metres, in the national parks department’s figures, and begin about 100 metres from the park office. The water looks blue-green because of the dissolved calcium carbonate, and the deposits make the whole waterfall look white. Below the falls it runs on into the Mae Pon stream and the Mae Pon reservoir.

Nam Phu Chet Si, the spring

The water starts at Nam Phu Chet Si, the Seven-Colour Spring, a cold spring about 440 metres from the park office that flows all year. Its name comes from the colours it throws back in the sunlight, and it is revered locally as a sacred water source, so dress and behave as you would at a shrine. The mines department traces the water to the nearby Bua Tong cave, under pressure, which is why the spring never stops. The national parks department adds that the area lies on the Mae Pon fault, and that the water picks up calcium and silica on its way through the rock.

What to bring

• Clothes that can get wet, and a change for the ride back. You will be in running water. Water shoes help, though plenty of people go barefoot.
• Water and snacks. Bring your own; the national parks department asks visitors not to bring single-use plastic or foam boxes into national parks.
• No alcohol and no pets. Both are on the department’s list of things not to bring into national parks, along with feeding wildlife.
• A plan for the return if you go without a tour; see getting there.

The park closes at short notice after storms, as it did after a storm in September 2023, so check the park’s Facebook page or call 093 193 3556 before you set off.

Half days that go straight there

Listing prices: GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026. Per person, adult fare.

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.