Chiang Mai Overview Travel Guide

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Eat a bowl of Tom Yum Gung, grow a lucky bamboo, hang a red lantern and you feel, "Oh yeah! I know the Orient." Well, you don't, not by a long shot. You might see the world in a grain of sand, but my friend, you really can't see the Orient in a bowl of soup. You have to be there, to breathe in the fragrances and aroma, to listen to exotic voices and sounds, to taste the flavours, to sense the rhythm, and feel the difference. So welcome to Chiang Mai, Oh weary traveller, and let's see what this historic, elegant beauty has in store for you. [more]

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Experience Chiang Mai's favorite sights as others see them. Let our visual picture tour of Chiang Mai help you choose the best places to visit in Chiang Mai:

If you are looking for big city chic, this is not the place to find it. If, on the other hand, you are the kind who's fascinated by fabulous palaces, historic forts, forbidding city walls, temples atop mountain peaks, shimmering waterfalls, mystical white elephants, colourful festivals, in short a different slice of life, welcome aboard. The City of Nophaburi Sri Nakorn Ping Chiangmai dates back to 1296, and every significant event that took place within its walls since then, resonates to this day. Hundreds of years' worth of history unfolds in gold topped pagodas, lies half asleep on crumbling fort walls, breathes new life in the cultural activities, and speaks volumes in the amazing legends and mythical narratives.

The Old City holds an intriguing charm that's hard not to succumb to. To get an idea of the antiquity of this city, explore the ruins of Wiang Kum Kham. Of about 300 ancient temples that dot the land, there are a few that merit extra attention. The Wat Chiang Man, the oldest of the lot comes with an interesting legend attached. Wat Chedi Luang will hold your attention for quite a span, in spite of its state of ruin brought about by an earthquake. The Wat Pra Singh holds the highly venerated Phra Singh Buddha, and if this doesn't get you, the exquisite interior definitely will.

Soak in some Buddhism at the Wat Suan Dok, a Buddhist Theology University. Visit the sanctuary of Wat U Mong a bit further away in the forest and let yourself be mesmerized by the timeless chanting that echoes softly. The Wat Jed Yot is a memorial to the Eighth Buddhist World Council that was held in… well, take a guess. Hint: before 2000. You'll find the answer further down, if I haven't forgotten to put it in.

Chiang Mai's mountain regions hold more secrets and rewards for the brave hearts who venture upward. You have the Wat Prathat Doi Suithep temple with its glittering golden chedi, right on top of the picturesque Doi Suithep Mountain, replete with striking waterfalls and lush green woods, a winter palace, the Chiang Mai Zoo, National Parks, and a heritage village.

From the mountains to the Mae Sa Valley, get in line for a show with a difference. Elephants, dogs, monkeys, and snakes don the garb of entertainers, with the panache of performers in a Broadway musical. At the end of that enervating exhibition you might be inclined to take refuge in the Orchid farm to wind down a notch.

For the ardent reveller Chiang Mai comes alive at sundown with its own take on an exuberant nightlife with great restaurants, bars, music, and dance. If you're bent on some serious relaxing, take yourself off to a massage parlour and surrender to the ministering of an expert Thai masseuse. Rest assured that you are being administered a treatment that came along with Buddhism down the ages and across the seas from India. That reminds me, the answer to the question about the Eighth Buddhist World Council was, the year 1477. Did you even come close?