Nong Yai is a small district towards the East of Chonburi, relatively unknown to the outside world and barely visited by tourists. As the road heads towards the province of Chantaburi and Trat there is a small cluster of hills stretching for several kilometeres with the highest peak around 400m.

There are various trails used mainly by farmers on their motorbikes whom live around the mountains, the vegetation is a mix of natural forest, rubber plantations and various fruit farms on a small scale and the trails form a relatively unbroken route around the farms and over the mountains. There is some evidence of mountain bikers from years gone by with some rocks spray painted with arrows, however after more than a dozen visits I have yet to bump into anyone.

The farmers in the area are very friendly and are always eager to chat and check out the bikes. There are also several small shops along the paved sections serving basic snacks and drinks. Apparently there is a small family of elephants in the area living in the jungle. Some of the trails have fantastic views of the surrounding area and the entire area is very scenic and well worth venturing too. A machete is a worthwhile piece of kit as many sections, especially in the wet season are overgrown. Despite this there are some nice sections of downhill for several km and a good mix of terrain for XC riders. The route shown here is just one of many possible trails with literally hundreds of kilometers of potential mountain biking in the area.

The roads in the area are almost completely devoid of traffic so there has been an increase in road cycling, this would be recommended but be aware of the heavily pot-holed road in some areas. The starting point highlighted on the map is just one possible starting point, there is a nice hill at the start with perhaps the best downhill accessible from here. If you are interested in mountain biking in Nong Yai, prepare enough water for anything between 10-40km of cycling, with so many trails you could spend a day here exploring.