{"id":7201,"date":"2024-02-28T02:22:13","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T02:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agencms.cluster030.hosting.ovh.net\/?p=7201"},"modified":"2024-02-28T02:33:16","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T02:33:16","slug":"chiang-mai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/chiang-mai\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiang Mai"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7201\" class=\"elementor elementor-7201\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-c07bfad e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c07bfad\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d6fe5b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9d6fe5b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-caf2e12 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"caf2e12\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.19.0 - 28-02-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chiang Mai<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-304c496 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"304c496\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;content_width&quot;:&quot;boxed&quot;}\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e89d06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1e89d06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.19.0 - 28-02-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is sometimes surprising to read that Chiang Mai only deserves two days of visiting, while its region is by far the richest in natural, ethnic, and historical sites in all of Thailand. To give a rough idea, here is a non-exhaustive list of some activities and visits possible in the \u201cRose of the North\u201d and its surroundings\u2026 And of course, this doesn\u2019t even mention the many festivals held throughout the year in the city (Flower Festival, Tribal Festival, Umbrella Festival, Loy Krathong, Songkran, Hmong and Chinese New Year, Buddha Days, etc.):<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Temples in downtown (Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Chiang Man, etc.);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The princess cemetery (Wat Suan Dok), with its hundred white chedis and its Sala Khan Prian (the largest in Thailand);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The forest monastery Umong and its underground tunnels;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The magnificent Silver Temple (Wat Suan Sat) and the silversmith street;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The National History Museum (on the highway) and the Three Kings Cultural Museum (downtown);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Massage schools and cooking schools (some even offer French-language courses);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Numerous markets (Sunday market, Saturday market, Warorot market, Ton Lam Yai market, etc.);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Jungle or mid-mountain trekking (avoid \u201ctourist\u201d treks and choose agencies offering hikes outside tourist zones);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Elephant preservation camps (prefer small family-run structures where elephants live on forest edges in miscanthus fields, i.e., their natural habitat; avoid large publicized camps where elephants are confined behind barriers on mowed fields);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Doi Inthanon National Park (the most beautiful panoramas of Thailand!), its Karen villages, spectacular waterfalls (Wachiratan, etc.), the king\u2019s and queen\u2019s chedis, its summit (the highest in Thailand), its markets, etc.;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The terraced rice fields of Mae Chaem (the most beautiful in Thailand!) and the many Karen villages there;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The caves of Chiang Dao (developed as Thai and Burmese monasteries) and Chiang Dao National Park (breathtaking panoramas!) as well as the many silver Palaung and Lisu villages found there;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Various sports activities in the Mae Sa valley or at Huay Tung Tao lake (quads, zipline, etc.);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Huay Tung Tao lake (possibility to swim and eat in huts \u2013 home of the famous \u201cdancing shrimp\u201d and lemon-flavored tilapia fish!) with many walking trails. Superb!<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Grand Canyon and its amazing geological formations (with swimming opportunities);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The forest monastery Wat Pha Lad at 600 meters altitude on the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai (magnificent!);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (at 1050 meters altitude on the mountain of the same name) and its golden chedi (one of the country\u2019s main pilgrimage sites);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Hmong villages of Doi Pui (touristy) and especially Ban Khun Chiang Khian (less touristy) with its school and beautiful high-altitude coffee plantation (coffee tasting possible);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Hmong village of Mon Djem atop its mountain after the Mae Sa valley (superb panoramas, many crops where Hmong work, restaurant at the summit);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The ancient city of Wiang Kum Kam, a medieval city built by King Mangrai in 1286 (10 years before Chiang Mai) 3 km south of Chiang Mai (70 temple ruins). It can be visited by horse-drawn carriage;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The ancient city of Wiang Than to the west of Chiang Mai (20 temple ruins \u2013 zero tourists!);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The amazing \u201cTerracotta Garden\u201d with many Khmer-style religious constructions (there is also a caf\u00e9-restaurant there) and not far from it, the Ganesh museum;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The magnificent royal floral park Rajapruek (southwest of Chiang Mai) and its ubosot at the foot of the mountain;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Mae Wang valley south of Chiang Mai (trekking, elephant camps, bamboo rafting);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Mae Tang valley north of Chiang Mai (trekking, elephant camps, rubber rafting);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The artisan villages of Bo Sang and Ban Tawai (almost all souvenirs found in Thailand are made there!): silk village, umbrella village, teak, celadon, etc.;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Wat Ton Kwai temple at Samoeng still totally in its original state (west of Chiang Mai, one of the most authentic Lan Na temples in the country) \u2013 zero tourists!;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The city of Lampang 28 km south of Chiang Mai and its many Mon Dvaravati period temples (preceding the arrival of the Thais in the region);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The hot springs of San Kamphaeng (possibility to bathe and spend a very pleasant half-day or more) and the little monkey temple (on the road);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Wat Phrathat Doi Saket temple atop its hill (20 km north of Chiang Mai), also a meditation school;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The magnificent Queen Sirikit Garden in the Mae Sa valley deep in the jungle (a high-wire circuit is installed there to observe the canopy, as well as many greenhouses with all the region\u2019s plants) \u2013 very few tourists;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The snake farm and the very interesting insect museum in the Mae Sa valley (its director is the country\u2019s best entomologist, author of many books. Chatting with him is very enriching!);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The fascinating tribal museum in the middle of its island 5 km north of Chiang Mai (Mae Rim road);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Princess Dararasami museum in Mae Rim;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Etc, etc, etc\u2026<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A little farther away, Chiang Mai is an excellent base to visit:<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The city of Lampang, its many temples including Wat Phrathat Lampang Luang (the most beautiful Lan Na temple in the country!), the incredible Wat Phra Bat Phu Pha Daeng atop its mountain (one of the most spectacular in the country!), its cliffs with 1800 prehistoric paintings (Phra Tu Pha), etc.;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The mountain Doi Ang Khang (Myanmar border, Palaung, Lisu and Lahu villages), high-altitude plantations (coffee, strawberries, etc.), Chinese village;<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son, Pai, Soppong, Pang Mapha (in my opinion, the most interesting place in Thailand for those interested in hill tribes);<\/span><\/p><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Golden Triangle.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We're sometimes surprised to read that Chiang Mai is only worth a two-day visit, even though its region is by far the one with the most natural, ethnic and historical sites in the whole of Thailand. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7201"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7207,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7201\/revisions\/7207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agence-thaitrekadventure.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}