Chiang Mai Province · Thailand
Chiang Mai
The capital of the Lanna kingdom for five centuries before it was ever part of Thailand, and it still does not feel like the rest of the country — a moated square of old city holding three hundred temples, a mountain with a golden chedi on it at the end of the road, and its own language, alphabet, architecture and food.
Lanna means 'a million rice fields' and it was an independent kingdom from 1296 until the late nineteenth century, with its own script that older monks still read and a dialect that Bangkok Thais find charming and occasionally incomprehensible. What that means for a visitor is that almost nothing here is a smaller version of Bangkok: the temples are teak and dark rather than gilded and bright, the food is bitter and herbal where the south is sweet and sour, and the pace is set by a city that has been a provincial capital rather than a metropolis. It has also become one of the largest remote-working cities in the world, which has given the Nimman district a coffee scene that would not embarrass Melbourne and has not changed the old city at all.
Plan your trip
Chiang Mai Tour Itineraries
Timed, walkable day plans — plus the best season to go.
Where to shoot
Chiang Mai Photo Spots
Medium crowdEntry Free
Bua Thong sticky waterfalls
- Best timeLate morning, when the sun gets down into the gorge and lights the water — the falls are in forest and are dark early and late
- ColorsWhiteCoralTurquoise
Medium crowdEntry A national-park ticket at the foreigner rate, several times the Thai price, plus a vehicle charge
Doi Inthanon
- Best timeSunrise from the ridge by the twin chedis, when the cloud sits in the valleys below and the gardens are in mist — the summit itself is forest and photographs as trees
- ColorsForest greenCreamRust
Medium crowdEntry Free
Tha Phae Gate & the old city moat
- Best timeJust after sunset, when the brick is floodlit and the square in front fills with people — and at dawn, when the pigeons and the joggers have it to themselves
- ColorsWhiteIndigoRust
Low crowdEntry Several thousand baht for a day including transport and lunch
The elephant sanctuaries
- Best timeEarly morning, on the first feed, when the light is low and the animals are active — midday is when they stand in shade and nothing happens
- ColorsOliveSandFaded blue
High crowdEntry Free
The Sunday Walking Street
- Best timeDusk, in the first hour, when the stall lights come on and it is still possible to move — by eight it is shoulder to shoulder and the photograph is of the back of somebody's head
- ColorsWhiteMarigoldIndigo
Medium crowdEntry Around ฿40 for foreign visitors
Wat Chedi Luang
- Best timeThe hour before sunset, when low light rakes across the brick and the elephants on the south face come out of the shadow — floodlit after dark is the other one worth staying for
- ColorsTerracottaCreamGold
For the feed
Trending Wear in Chiang Mai
Modern, Instagram-friendly looks
Dressed for a day of Lanna temples
฿600–2,000
Elephant camp and waterfall kit
฿800–2,500
Layers for a cool-season north
฿1,000–4,000
Rooted in the city
Chiang Mai Traditional Wear
Local, cultural, handcrafted outfits
Taste the city
Food to Eat in Chiang Mai
Trusted tables
Where to Eat in Chiang Mai
The khantoke houses
Old city and the Wua Lai quarter
The khao soi shops
Faham road, north-east of the old city, and across town
The Nimman coffee shops
Nimmanhaemin, west of the old city
The Sunday market temple courtyards
Ratchadamnoen Road, in the monastery yards off the street
Warorot Market
By the river, east of the old city
Questions
Chiang Mai — FAQ
What is Chiang Mai famous for?
The capital of the Lanna kingdom for five centuries before it was ever part of Thailand — a moated old city of temples, Doi Suthep on the mountain above, the Sunday Walking Street, and northern food: sai ua sausage, nam prik noom with sticky rice and northern coffee.
How many days are enough for Chiang Mai?
Three: the old-city temples and the Sunday Walking Street, Doi Suthep and the mountain, and a day for the elephant sanctuaries or Doi Inthanon.
What is the best time to visit Chiang Mai?
November to January — cool, dry and before the burning season.
How do I get around Chiang Mai?
The old city inside its moat is walked; the mountain, the waterfalls and the sanctuaries are all a ride out of town.
What is the burning season?
The weeks from mid-January when smoke fills the valley and the mountain views vanish. If the peaks matter to you, plan around it — come between November and January.