Chiang Mai, and what we will not book
A walled old city of thirty temples with mountains behind it. Three nights, excellent food, and two industries — elephants and staged village visits — that we do not take part in.
What Chiang Mai actually is
The capital of the Lanna kingdom from 1296, and still a distinct place from Bangkok in language, food and architecture. The old city is a 1.5-kilometre square inside a moat and the remains of a brick wall, containing something over thirty working temples, and it is small enough to cross on foot in twenty minutes.
The two temples worth planning around are Wat Chedi Luang, whose enormous brick stupa lost its upper third to an earthquake in 1545 and has deliberately been left that way, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, on the mountain above the city at 1,050 metres, reached by thirty minutes of hairpins and a 306-step naga staircase.
Beyond that, Chiang Mai is a city to be unscheduled in. It has the best food in northern Thailand — khao soi, sai ua, nam prik noom, none of which is the Thai food most visitors know — a serious coffee culture, and valleys twenty minutes out of town. Three nights here is not three nights of sightseeing and should not be.
How many nights
Three. One day for the old city temples and the food, one for Doi Suthep and the Mae Sa valley, and one that is deliberately loose. Two nights works if you are moving on to Chiang Rai and want to keep the trip tight.
One night is a mistake. The old city takes a morning and the mountain takes an afternoon, and you will have seen a set of buildings without having been anywhere.
The air, and why March is different
Agricultural and forest burning across the whole northern region fills the valley with smoke. Chiang Mai regularly records among the worst air quality readings of any city in the world during March, with PM2.5 in the unhealthy or hazardous bands for weeks. This is not haze; it is smoke, and if you have asthma or a heart condition it is a real risk.
It also removes the view of the mountains that half the reason for coming here. We will build a March trip if that is when you can travel, and we will tell you first.
What we will not book, and why
Two large industries here are staples of the northern Thai tour trade and neither survives a close look.
Elephants
Riding is indefensible: the training process that makes an elephant carry a person is brutal and well documented. The “sanctuary” model that replaced it — bathing, feeding, walking alongside — is a great deal better in some cases and, in many, the same industry with better copy: the animals are still chained off-hours and still came through the same training. We do not book any elephant activity. There are a small number of observation-only projects we think are genuine and we will name them and let you decide.
Hill-tribe village visits
The organised versions are extractive: villages arranged for visitors, dress worn for the photograph, and a fee that mostly does not reach the residents. The long-neck Kayan villages, where Burmese refugee women are effectively displayed, are the worst case. We do not go. We will happily arrange a walk through farming country and a meal in a village where we have a long relationship, which is a quieter and more honest version of the same afternoon.
When to go
| Months | What it is like |
|---|---|
| November to February | The best window. Dry, 15 to 30 degrees, cold at dawn in December, and the air is clear. |
| Late February to April | Burning season. Hot and smoky, and the mountains invisible. |
| May to June | Very hot before the rains break. |
| July to October | Wet season. Afternoon rain, everything green, the fewest visitors, and the best prices. |
What things cost
| Simple hotel, inside the moat, double | USD 30 - 55 |
| Comfortable boutique hotel, double | USD 70 - 130 |
| The best hotels in and around the city | USD 200 - 500 |
| Bowl of khao soi | USD 1.50 - 3 |
| Dinner for two, good restaurant | USD 25 - 55 |
| Half-day cooking class with market run | USD 30 - 50 |
| Doi Suthep entry | About USD 1 |
| Temple entries in the old city | USD 0 - 1.50 |
| Songthaew across town | About USD 1 |
Photographs
When to skip Chiang Mai
- March, unless you have no choice. The air is the reason.
- If you wanted to ride an elephant. We will not arrange it and you will be disappointed by our alternatives.
- If you have under a week in Thailand and the islands are the point. The north is a separate holiday.
- If you need a beach or a big city. Chiang Mai is neither.
- If you are hoping to continue overland into Myanmar. That border is not open to tourists on any terms we would recommend.
Tours that include Chiang Mai
Two nights in the twenty-four-day four-country route, and three in the seven-day northern Thailand route, which is built around it.
Questions travellers ask most
Is there any elephant experience you will book?
We will name the small number of observation-only projects we believe are genuine, and you can book directly with them if you want to. We do not sell them as an activity or take any margin.
Anything involving riding, bathing or feeding, we decline.
Is a cooking class worth a morning?
In Chiang Mai, yes, and more than in most places, because northern Thai food is genuinely different from what people mean by Thai food.
The good classes start at the market at 07:00 with what things are, not with a recipe card.
Is Pai worth adding?
It is three hours north on a road with 762 curves and a well-earned reputation for car sickness. The valley is lovely and the town is a backpacker scene.
Two nights minimum if you go. We will build it and we rarely suggest it.
How does Chiang Mai compare with Luang Prabang?
Chiang Mai is a real working city with a preserved core; Luang Prabang is a small town where the preserved core is almost the whole thing.
If you can only do one, Luang Prabang is more unusual. Chiang Mai is better to spend a week in.
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