Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, which in fact means "New City," celebrated its 725th anniversary just a few years ago, in 2021. The city was founded as the capital of the kingdom of Lanna ("A Million Rice Fields") in 1296. Under King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai, Lanna unified several small kingdoms in the north, at about the same time that Sukhothai was established further south. King Mengrai founded many of the temples within the old city that are still important today.
The dynasty founded by King Mengrai lasted more than 250 years, until the Burmese captured the city in 1556. Burma held on to Chiang Mai for nearly 200 years, and to this day you can still see signs in Burmese as well as many other indications of Burmese influence. Towards the end of the 18th century, King Taksin, who regrouped the Thais in the south after the sacking of Ayutthaya, finally forced the Burmese out with the help of King Kawila of Lampang.
Chiang Mai was governed by a succession of princes who ruled the north under the protection of the Siamese king based in Bangkok. Late in the 19th century, Rama V appointed a high commissioner in Chiang Mai, but it wasn't until 1939 that Chiang Mai finally came under the direct control of the central government in Bangkok, at about the same time that the country was renamed Thailand.
In this section
Getting a little background information on Chiang Mai will help you avoid surprises when you get there. Here are some links to essential information that you'll want to know before you go:
History There has probably always been a village of some sort on the site where Chiang Mai stands today. The location is a natural spot for people to settle down. The "New City," which is what Chiang Mai means, as we see it today was founded by King Mengrai in 1292, making it 710 years old in 2002.
See our article on Thailand Events for a list of national holidays and festivals. Here are some events that are specific to Chiang Mai and the north:
Holidays & Festivals: Early February - Flower Festival There's a parade with floats, an orchid show and of course a beauty contest for a flower queen. April 13 to 15 - Songkran This nationwide holiday is celebrated with much exuberance in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is the best place to sample northern cuisine. The most distinct style is known as khan toke. A Khan Toke meal consists of several small dishes such as chicken or beef curries, crispy fried pork skin and northern style chili sauces such as the mild red nam prik ong or the firey nam prik on; all served with sticky rice. A Khan Toke dinner is traditionally served on a small round table.
Chiang Mai is the kind of place where you can easily spend a few days or a few weeks. You can reach most other places of interest in the north on day trips, so the city can be used as a base for exploring almost all of the north.
There are, of course, some "must see" sites and places. Our basics tour below will get you through these, and then we suggest some day trips to other sights.
Iguanas sunning on a roof. Its not at the top of our list of things to see in Chiang Mai, but if you're spending more than a few days in the area, the Chiang Mai zoo is definitely worth a visit. Located on the road that takes you to Doi Suthep, right at the base of the mountain in fact, the zoo is easy to find.
Up close and personal with an elk.
It's not at the top of our list of things to see in Chiang Mai, but if you're spending more than a few days in the area, the Chiang Mai zoo is definitely worth a visit. Located on the road that takes you to Doi Suthep, right at the base of the mountain in fact, the zoo is easy to find.
Up close and personal with an elk. It's not quite so easy to negotiate.
No matter why you're visiting Chiang Mai or what you plan to do there, you still need a place to stay, a means of getting around and something to eat. Explore the links below to get detailed information on all the basics you need to know:
Getting There As the north's major tourist destination, Chiang Mai is quite easy to get to. The city is even being promoted as something of a hub.
The reconstructed Tapae Gate. Chiang Mai is one of the easiest cities to visit in Thailand. The airport is quite close to town, and the city itself is quite easy to get around. See our article on Practical Information for travelers to Thailand for information on money, visas and other data.
See our articles on Getting There for information on air, rail and bus travel to Chiang Mai, and Getting Around for tips on making your way around the city.
Chiang Mai is relatively easy to get around, since it's a very tourist oriented town. While there are now licensed taxis, they seem very hard to find on the street. They seem to all hang out at the airport. You will find a few men with cars hanging around outside many hotels offering to take you on tours, etc. Use them at your own risk. Here are your other options for getting around:
As the north's major tourist destination, Chiang Mai is quite easy to get to. The city is even being promoted as something of a hub. Whether its planes or buses, you have several travel times a day to choose from to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
Planes Chiang Mai's international airport is served by just about every domestic air carrier in Thailand, as well as a few international airlines based in the region.
There has probably always been a village of some sort on the site where Chiang Mai stands today. The location is a natural spot for people to settle down. The "New City," which is what Chiang Mai means, as we see it today was founded by King Mengrai in 1292, making it 710 years old in 2002. The story goes that Mengrai founded Chiang Mai and moved the capital of Lanna there from Chiang Rai after conquering the Haripunchai around what is now Lamphun.
The Chiang Mai National Museum is located on the Superhighway road, very close to Wat Jed Yod. You can combine a visit to the temple with an afternoon in the museum. You may also be interested in the Chiang Mai Zoo, one of Thailand's most outstanding zoological parks.
Articles More information is available on this site about the following museums:
Chiang Mai City Art & Cultural Center Located in the old Provincial Administration building, the Cultural Center provides an historical background to the development of Chiang Mai.
The area between the western wall of the old city and the Ping River is where many of Chiang Mai's hotels are located, as well as the city's famous Night Bazaar. The river is connected to the old city by Tapae Road, which is the closest thing to a Main Street that Chiang Mai has. The road is lined with souvenir shops, restaurants and guest houses as well as a few banks, temples and some designer boutiques.
One of Chiang Mai's major attractions is its old city. While many old cities all over Thailand once had walls and moats, Chiang Mai is almost the only city where the old walls are still mostly intact. In addition, the city within the old walls still has many charming lanes that you can wander down at your leisure. The old city is my favorite area to stay in Chiang Mai, and there are many small hotels to choose from.
Chiang Mai Map The original town built by King Mengrai lies within a two kilometer square moat. Within the moat was a massive city wall, of which you can still see portions at the corner as well as the reconstructed Tapae Gate. Within the walled city are quiet narrow lanes and some of the city's oldest temples, such as Wat Chieng Man, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang.
Although it lies on a relatively flat plain, the city nestles up to a mountain range to the west.
For a city with so many public spaces and monuments, Chiang Mai is rather short on parks, as are most Thai cities. Still, it does have a few nice parks worth mentioning here:
Buak Hart Park Tucked into the southwest corner of the old city is the only park within the city walls, Suan Buak Hart. The park is fairly sizeable, with a large meandering pond in its middle, surrounded by large expanses of grass.
Here are some links to additional pages to help you plan your trip to Chiang Mai.
Events See our article on Thailand Events for a list of national holidays and festivals. The linked page shows some events that are specific to Chiang Mai and the north. Excursions In addition to the many sights of Chiang Mai itself, the city makes an excellent base for exploring the far north. Most of the other major attractions of the north can be visited as a day trip from Chiang Mai, making the city a great base for exploring the unique culture of the old "Lanna" kingdom.
Shopping sometimes seems to be Chiang Mai's reason for being. It is after all the primary night-time activity. You'll find shops selling local handicrafts - silk, cotton, woodcarving, saa paper, silver, etc. - all over town, but the real scene can be found in two areas:
Night Bazaar The place to browse for local handicrafts, clothes, luggage, silver, spices and much, much more. You can find most anything here, but the "big" products that most stalls offer tend to follow trends.
Here are some links to information pages for those looking for specific travel information on things other than the run-of-the-mill sights of Chiang Mai.
Adventure Chiang Mai is a natural base camp for trekking and other adventurous activities. You can book over-night treks through many agents when in Chiang Mai, and there many other 'softer' options available as well. Gay / Lesbian Chiang Mai is generally a very relaxed place, and that extends to its gay scene.
Chiang Mai's temples are perhaps the most interesting of its many attractions. Unlike Bangkok, where few temples are more than 200 years old, some temples in Chiang Mai are as old as the city, which celebrated it's 700th anniversary in 1996.
The one temple every first-time visitor absolutely, positively must see is the mountain-top Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. The temple is a "must see" not only for its importance as a pilgrimage temple, but also for the outstanding views it affords of the city and its surrounding plain, when the weather cooperates.
In its day, Wat Chedi Luang must have been the most impressive temple in Chiang Mai. Built about 600 years ago, the huge chedi which gave the temple its name (the name of the temple translates to "royal pagoda") must have soared high above the surrounding city.
The semi-restored pagoda (chedi) of Wat Chedi Luang I say "must have" because the chedi was mostly destroyed within a few hundred years of its construction.
The Ordination Hall and Chedi of Wat Chiang Man You can take it with you.
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Located within the walls of the old city, near the Chang Puak gate, Chiang Man is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai. It was supposedly built by the founder of the city 700 years ago, King Mengrai, on the spot where he stayed while planning his new capital.
The temple's imposing chedi. You won't find it in any of the current popular guidebooks, but Wat Gate (or more properly Wat Gatekaram) is a temple we think is well worth a visit. Located on the east bank of the Ping River, across from Chiang Mai's city center, the temple is now at the center of a very rich historical district full of designer boutiques and some of Chiang Mai's most pleasant restaurants.
The sacred chedi of the temple from 1987. The temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is certainly one of the most important temples in Chiang Mai, as well as one of the most revered among all Thais. The temple is a major pilgrimage destinations during the important Buddhist holidays of Makha Buja and Visak. Its importance, as well as its location, owes much to the legend of its founding.
The silver ubosot (ordination hall) of Wat Srisuphan While most of the sights of the silver village are the shops along Wualai Road, there is one attraction that's more spiritual than material. Wat Srisuphan was built in 1502, although little remains of the original temple except the boundary markers (sema stones) around the ordination hall (ubosot). In fact, the chapel is now the focus of renovations that are designed to make it a fitting centerpiece for the silver village it serves.
Wat Umong (or Oomong) is one of my favorite temples in Chiang Mai. It can be an especially magical place just after the rainy season has ended, around early October or November.
Wat Umong is unique in many respects. For one, it's built in the foothills of Suthep mountain and is still heavily forested. But the most unique feature of the temple are the tunnels which give the wat its name (umong is the Thai word for "tunnel").
The remains of Pu Pia temple. In 1984, just outside the modern Chiang Mai metropolitan area, archaeologists uncovered the remains of an ancient city. Research concluded that this was the city of Wiang Kum Kam, one of many fortified cities built by King Mengrai as he consolidated his hold on the north. In fact, it appears that Mengrai may have lived at Wiang Kum Kam for a few years before Chiang Mai was constructed.
metadesc = "Chiang Mai adventure tours by Thailand for Visitors."; $page->metakeys = "Chiang Mai, Thailand, tours, travel suggestions, itineraries, adventure, nature"; $page->bc = true; $page->page_head("Chiang Mai Adventure & Nature Tours"); $sel = "Adventure"; $page->menu(); $ct = "Chiang Mai"; include("viator_ban.inc"); include("viator-functions.php"); $link = vlink('CNX'); ?> Chiang Mai is a natural base camp for trekking and other adventurous activities. You can book over-night treks through many agents when in Chiang Mai.
metakeys = "Chiang Mai, Thailand, books, maps, guides"; $page->bc = true; $page->page_head("Chiang Mai Gay/Lesbian Resources"); $page->menu(); ?> Chiang Mai is generally a very relaxed place, and that extends to its gay scene. There are a number of gay-owned businesses in the town, and at times Chiang Mai comes closest to having a "community" atmosphere, although it lacks a well-defined center. Unfortunately, Chiang Mai is the only city in Thailand with a big gay population but no pride event.
metadesc = "Recomended maps and guides for Chiang Mai."; $page->metakeys = "Chiang Mai, Thailand, books, maps, guides"; $page->page_head("Recommended Maps and Guides"); $page->menu(); ?> Chiang Mai is not as well covered with specific guidebooks as Bangkok. Of the major guidebook series, only Lonely Planet has a book dedicated to northern Thailand. It's worth noting that most hotels and many restaurants have free maps and tourist booklets freely available.
