CHIANG MAI · THAILAND
Golden temples, green mountains, the slow north.
Mountain temples and cloud-forest peaks, rescued-elephant valleys and farm cooking classes. Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon, the moated Old City, and the day trips out to Chiang Rai and the hills.
The north's own
Three things the beaches can't give you.
Snorkelling and full-moon parties belong to the south. The rescued elephants, the waterfall you climb and the roof of Thailand belong up here.
Ethical sanctuaries
A Day With Rescued Elephants
Northern Thailand is where the no-riding sanctuary began. Out in the Mae Taeng and Mae Wang valleys you walk with rescued elephants, help with the feeding and watch them roam and bathe in the river. No chains, no circus tricks, no riding.
- 1 Chiang Mai: Elephant Sanctuary, Waterfall & Bamboo Rafting
- 2 Chiang Mai: Elephant Sanctuary & Waterfall Group Tour
- 3 Chiang Mai: Elephant Sanctuary Feeding Program Half-Day Tour
Bua Tong
Climb the Sticky Waterfalls
The Bua Tong falls north of the city run over porous limestone that grips like sandpaper underfoot, so you climb straight up the cascade against the water rather than just looking at it. There is nowhere else in Thailand you can do this, and it stays cool and shaded all year.
- 1 Chiang Mai: Sticky Waterfall & Angel Waterfall Park Day Tour
- 2 Chiang Mai: Bua Thong Sticky Waterfall & Huge Cave & Buffet
- 3 Chiang Mai Half Day Tour: Sticky Waterfall & Hotel Transfer
Roof of Thailand
Stand on the Highest Ground in the Country
Doi Inthanon tops out at 2,565 metres, the highest point in Thailand, wrapped in cloud forest and mossy trails. The twin royal pagodas look out over the ranges, the Wachirathan falls thunder below, and the air is genuinely cold at the summit. A full day in a different climate.
- 1 Chiang Mai: Doi Inthanon National Park Eco-Friendly Tour
- 2 Doi Inthanon Waterfall and Royal Project Chiang Mai
- 3 3-in-1: Doi Inthanon Tour, Elephant Sanctuary, and Trekking Trail
Start with the standout
The one experience nearly everyone books.
More travellers build a day around this than anything else in Chiang Mai.
The classics
Chiang Mai's Most Popular Experiences
Cooking classes and elephant sanctuaries, Doi Inthanon and the Chiang Rai temples. The days most people come north for.
Where to begin
The experiences a Chiang Mai trip is built around.
Cooking classes and elephant sanctuaries, the two mountain temples, the Chiang Rai day trip and the waterfall you can climb. The handful of days most trips are planned around, and the best way to do each.
Before you book
How to choose an elephant sanctuary.
This is the one Chiang Mai decision worth getting right. The ethical parks let you feed and watch rescued elephants roam free. Steer clear of anywhere offering rides, shows or painting. Three kinds of visit, depending on how much of the day you want.
Doi Suthep
The golden temple on the mountain.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep sits high on the mountain that walls the city to the west, its gold chedi reached by a 309-step staircase flanked by two long nagas. Sunrise tours climb before the crowds for the almsgiving and the view back over Chiang Mai laid out in the valley below.
- 1 Chiang Mai: Doi Suthep and Wat Umong Enchanting Evening Tour
- 2 Chiang Mai: Doi Suthep, Wat Umong, and Pha Lat Sunrise Tour
- 3 Chiang Mai: Wat Pha Lat & Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Tour
Northern kitchens
Learn to cook the food of the north.
Chiang Mai is one of the best places in the world to learn Thai cooking. A morning at the market for lemongrass and galangal, an hour at an organic farm, then a wok of your own: khao soi, the creamy curry noodle soup the north is known for, a curry paste pounded from scratch and mango sticky rice to finish.
Read the guide: the best Chiang Mai cooking classes →Yi Peng
The night the sky fills with lanterns.
Once a year, on the November full moon, Chiang Mai floats thousands of glowing khom loi lanterns into the dark for Yi Peng, while candle-lit krathong drift down the Ping River for Loy Krathong. It is the most magical week to be in the north, and the cool, clear start of the best season to visit.
Evening experiences and night markets →By place
Pick a corner of the north.
The Old City for the temples and markets. Doi Suthep for the mountain shrine. Doi Inthanon for the cloud forest. Chiang Rai for the White Temple. Bua Tong for the waterfall you climb. Mae Kampong for the coffee hills.
By activity
Or pick how to spend the day.
A cooking class if you want the market and the wok. A sanctuary if you want the elephants. The mountain for the temples and the trails, the river for the rafting, the Old City after dark for the food and the muay thai.
Plan it
Three perfect days.
Never been? Here is a first trip that splits the city and the mountains without a wasted morning.
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