Chiang Mai is the hub of Northern Thailand. With a population of over 170,000 in the city proper (but more than 1 million in the metropolitan area), it is Thailand’s fifth-largest city. Located on a plain at an elevation of 316 m, surrounded by mountains and lush countryside, it is much greener and quieter than the capital, and has a cosmopolitan air and a significant expat population, factors which have led many from Bangkok to settle permanently in this “Rose of the North”.
Chiang Mai is a culturally and historically interesting city, at one time the capital of the ancient Lanna kingdom. Located among the rolling foothills of the Himalayan Mountains 700 km north of Bangkok, it could only be reached by an arduous river journey or an elephant trek until the 1920s. This isolation helped keep Chiang Mai’s distinctive charm intact.
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Overview
Get In
- By plane to Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX)
- By bus
- By train
Get around
- By local bus
- By sonthaew
- By tuk-tuk or samlor
- By taxi
- By motorbike
- By bicycle
- On foot
See & Do
- Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep
- Wat Phra Singh
- Wat Chiang Man
- Wat Chedi Luang
- Wat Suan Dok
- Sacred Heart Cathedral
- Chiang Mai National Museum
- Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre
- Huay Kaew Waterfall
- Bua Tong Waterfall
- Chiang Mai Zoo & Aquarium
- Mae Sa Waterfall
- Doi Inthanon
- Elephant Camps
- Hill tribe villages
- Bo Sang Umbrella & Sankampaeng Handicraft Village
- Night Bazaar
- Warorot Market
- Take a boat trip on the Mae Ping River
- Orchid Farm
- Long Neck Karen Hill Tribe & Chiang Dao Cave
- Have a Traditional Khantoke Dinner
- Chiang Mai Night Safari
- Wiang Kum Kam, the Underground Ancient City
- Chat with a monk at Wat Chedi Luang
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