One of our favorite cities in the world!! A person could spend an entire vacation just exploring Chiang Mai's city center, where the remains of ancient walls encircle over 30 temples. Chaing Mai is nestled within the pristine northern highlands of Thailand and is the largest city in mountainous northern Thailand, hosting thousands of tourists, both Thai, and foreigners, who visit each year. Founded in 1296, it was the capital of the independent Lanna Kingdom until 1558. Its Old City area still retains vestiges of walls and moats from its history as a cultural and religious center. Chiang Mai is famous for its beautiful ancient temples (also known as a Wat), though there is much more to see and do.

The striking mountainous landscape around the city provides many wonderful natural attractions, such as Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, an ornate Buddhist temple in the hills dating back to 1383. This is the city's most famous temple, on a mountain to the northwest of the city.

Nature and mountain tours are another activity that should not be missed when visiting Chiang Mai, including stepping on the highest point of Thailand at the top of Doi Inthanon, where you can soak in the beauty of the rice fields, feel the cool breeze while watching the giant tiger flower at Doi Ang Khang or visiting Hmong villages in Doi Pui.

But don’t just explore historical sights—witness Thailand’s vibrant Night Bazaar. The best place to witness all of this is the lively Nimmanhaemin Road. The Nimmanhaemin name is that of Chiang Mai’s oldest family. Originally, the street sported noodle shops and humble homes. Now it thrives with restaurants, galleries, and cafés. The night bazaar begins at 5 p.m. each night, and you can master the art of haggling.

If you’ve enjoyed the food in Thailand or wish you knew how to make Thai dishes, there are many Thai Cooking Schools that you can visit. We loved the Thai Farm Cooking School (more on this later).

Lastly, Chaing Mai is a short drive to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP), one of our favorite places in the world!!! ENP picks up visitors in Chiang Mai and heads out to the elephant sanctuary. Stepping out of the van and taking in the vast green space, low mountains, and elephants moving freely is an amazing experience. It’s now well known that elephant rides can be harmful to elephants, ENP lets visitors see the elephants wandering freely, and have many different experiences with the elephants.

While in Thailand, demonstrate your respect for Thai culture by dressing conservatively (covering your shoulders and knees), refraining from eating, drinking, chewing gum, smoking, or wearing headphones in temple complexes, and removing your hat, sunglasses, and shoes when entering worship areas. Do not turn your back close to a Buddha painting or statue (such as posing for a selfie), and avoid touching monks, or taking photos of monks without asking.

How to Get to Chiang Mai

We’ve traveled to Chiang Mai twice, once arriving by an evening train from Bangkok which arrived in Chiang Mai at 8 a.m., and also on a flight from Bangkok. Also, you can get to Chiang Mai on a direct flight from many cities in Southeast Asia.

Upon arriving by train, you’ll exit the train station and have many drivers waiting to take you to your destination. We met Saran at the train station, who took us to our hotel. While in Chiang Mai, we used Saran to take us everywhere we wanted to go. We kept Saran’s WhatsApp contact information to reach out to him on our next visit to Chiang Mai and he again took us from the airport to our hotel and on other trips when we needed a driver.

Where to Stay in Chiang Mai

On our first visit, we stayed at Bed Phrasingh. This hotel was very European, with a pool and an amazing breakfast each morning. Breakfast had a great variety of food, it definitely kept us full as we wandered around Chiang Mai. Also, we loved the location in the old city of Chiang Mai, which was very close to Wat Phra Singh and the Sunday night market.

On our second visit, we stayed at De Naga Hotel, which is across from the Tha Pae Gate in the Old City, a prime location in the heart of the city. So many attractions, markets, and restaurants are within walking distance of the hotel. This hotel also served an amazing breakfast, a combination of American and Thai cuisine.

What We Did in Chiang Mai

Wat Chiang Man - The oldest temple in Chiang Mai, dates from the 13th century. King Mengrai lived here during the construction of the city. This temple houses two important and venerated Buddha figures,

Wat Phra Singh - This wat is within the city walls, dates from 1345, and offers an example of classic Northern Thai-style architecture. It houses the Phra Singh Buddha, a highly venerated figure brought here many years ago from Chiang Rai. This elegant idol is said to have come to Thailand from Sri Lanka and was enshrined in 1367.

Wat Chedi Luang - Was founded in 1401 and is dominated by a large Lanna-style chedi, which took many years to finish. An earthquake damaged the chedi in the 16th century and only two-thirds of it remains. Wat Chedi Luang isn't as grand as Wat Phra Singh, but its towering, ruined Lanna-style chedi is much taller. The famed Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha), now held in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew, resided here until 1475; today, you can view a jade replica. There are more chapels and statues in teak pavilions at the rear of the compound, including a huge reclining Buddha and a handsome Chinese-influenced seated Buddha barely contained by his robes. The daily Monk Chat under a tree in the grounds always draws a crowd of interested travelers.

Wat Phan Tao - This is a unique structure because it is a wooden temple. It was built in the 14th century and was formerly a production site for Buddhas for Wat Chedi Luang and where the monk stayed, hence its name meaning "temple of a thousand kilns".

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep - One of northern Thailand's most sacred temples. Overlooking the city from its mountain throne, wát is a beautiful example of northern Thai architecture, reached via a 306-step staircase flanked by naga (mythical sea serpents). The climb is intended to help devotees accrue Buddhist merit.

However, Chiang Mai has so many Wat’s that we missed visiting many, including;

Wat Chet Yot is on the outskirts of the city. Built in 1455, the temple hosted the Eighth World Buddhist Council in 1977.
Wat Suan Dok, a 14th-century temple just west of the old city wall.
Wat Ku Tao in the city's Chang Phuak District dates from (at least) the 13th century.

Night Bazaars - They offer pretty much everything any other Thai night market has, but just more of it. The activity, hustle, and bustle is crazy. There are so many vendor stalls, with a huge variety of items for sale. For example, you can shop for soccer jerseys, carved elephants, artwork, handicrafts, sunglasses, shoes, luggage, furniture, and homeware. After your retail fix, head to one of the dozens of nearby bars or restaurants to wind down, remember the shopping experience, and discuss the purchases that you made (and the ones that got away). You can shop for art, taste local cuisine, and see multiple cultures on display. We did the Night Bazaar on Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday night was much more crowded, with much more music and activity. There were many food stalls and everything we sampled was delicious. We had seen some signs in hotels, buildings, and private transfers saying "No Durian allowed". We weren’t sure what durian was, or why there were signs saying it wasn’t allowed in places. And, really, it’s a fruit that people eat. How bad could it smell? Well, we walked past a stall selling durian fruit and it’s an overpowering smell. It’s hard to describe how bad durian smells, but it smells really, really bad. With something that stinks this bad, we wondered why anyone would ever want to taste it. After walking about 50 yards past the durian stall, the foul smell finally left our nostrils. However, we eventually came upon another stall selling Durian. This second scent of Durian nearly made us sick. Durian is maybe the most offensive scent we’ve ever encountered.

Thai Massage - We went to multiple places for a Thai massage, which cost 200 Thai Baht per hour, or about 9 USD. So relaxing and such a great stress relief. Make time to have at least one Thai massage while in Chiang Mai.

Royal Park Rajapruek - This park was opened in 2006 as the site of a horticultural exposition (Royal Flor Rajapruek). Royal Park Rajapruek was built to commemorate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Accession to the throne as well as His Majesty's 80th birthday. This large floral and botanical park has an incalculable number of plants and flowers and a nice orchid garden, where visitors can see rare orchids.

The site covers 200 acres, which includes the public gardens, exhibition halls, a restaurant, and government research buildings. You can use the hop-on/hop-off tram system to access different spots throughout the park. At the center of the Royal Park is an authentic Lanna architecture of Ho Kham Luang Royal Pavilion where a painting exhibition about the life and works of King Bhumibol is displayed inside. It was low season when we visited, so they were working on planting and landscaping in the park. We walked through part of the Royal Park and took the tram to further spots within the park. One of the legs of the Amazing Race was at this park, so, as fans of the show, this was exciting for us to visit an Amazing Race location.

Chiang Mai city tour - We had a great cab driver who took us from the airport to the hotel, so we contacted Saran to give us a day tour in and around Chiang Mai. For 1,200 Thai Baht (around $50 USD), he spent the whole day with us. Our first stop was Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, which is on top of a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. Beautiful views even though it was cloudy and rainy (but definitely not as hot as Bangkok or Phuket)! Next, we went to Chang Phueak, where we were able to hike to two waterfalls, Sai Yoi and Montha Than Waterfalls.

Saran took us to his favorite place to have Khao Soi. For the five of us to eat with drinks, it was 450 Thai Baht, which is about $20 USD. The food was great, not at all a tourist place. Pretty sure we were the only non-locals there! Our next stop was to a place in San Kamphaeng where they hand-make paper umbrellas. What a craft to make the paper, put together the umbrellas, paint the umbrellas, attach to the frame, etc. In the same area, we also stopped by the Thai Silk Factory. We saw the process of the moth, cocoon, extracting the silk thread, and the weaving process.

On a separate day, Saran took the boys to a rice field for a quick tour on the way to Huay Tung Tao Reservoir, about 20 minutes northwest of Chiang Mai. Huay Tung Tao is a peaceful man-made lake at the feet of the Doi Suthep mountains, with mountain views, cheap Thai food and lined with bamboo huts & eateries serving local dishes. Not many international tourists visit this hidden gem, no tour buses show up and encroach on the surroundings; this is more of a local hang-out.

The bamboo huts, right along the water, provide shelter from the sun and have enough room for people to stretch out and relax in the beautiful surroundings. Making these huts even better, you can order some cheap food and/or cold drinks to further ensure that you have a relaxing afternoon. The menus are written in both Thai and English. However, the staff doesn’t speak much English, so pointing and holding up fingers is the way to order if you don’t speak restaurant Thai. They also have water, beer and bottles of whiskey available to buy. After your tummy is full of yummy, you can relax with a Thai massage, go for a walk or a bicycle ride, take a swim or ride a swan pedal boat.

As people need a breath of fresh air once in a while, Huay Tung Tao is a great place to escape from the bustle of a busy city, this gem is a perfect place for chilling out and relaxing.

Take a Silversmithing Class - If you have a love for jewelry and want to learn from a master silversmith, take a Beginner Jewelry Making Class at Nova Collection. Experience the process of crafting a unique jewelry piece that you create and make, a fun keepsake to take home!

Take a Thai Cooking Class - Have you ever wished you could cook Thai food at home? Then you will want to know how to make it when you get home. Take a cooking class from Thai Farm Cooking School to learn about ingredients, and how to prepare and cook a Thai meal. The best part, you get to eat everything you make, so come hungry!

Where We Ate in Chiang Mai

We ate at a lot of great places in Chiang Mai, many of which we didn’t make note of the restaurant name. We ate a bunch of great street food and food from vendors at the Night Bazaars. Our favorite restaurant was Lemongrass, but we also enjoyed;

Heng Phen

Bamboo

Arno’s - a good place for something different, a hamburger

Day Trips from Chiang Mai

Elephant Nature Park

ELEPHANTS!!! Took a van an hour or so outside of Chiang Mai to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP). An amazing setting! This was a huge piece of land with over 80 resident elephants. On each of our visits, we did the Pamper a Pachyderm tour, which is no longer offered. However, they have so many other options to select from, check them out here.

We spent the whole day with Muoy Khamwichai's elephants. She used to do riding tours until she partnered with ENP to promote no riding. Now guests get to spend the day with her elephants and their mahouts (elephant keepers). Muoy is one of 28 different elephant owners that now promotes no riding and does other types of elephant tours. Muoy joined us on our journey, as she does with all of the tours.

First, we made protein balls for the elephants to eat before they get their fruit. It was raining on one of our visits here, but that didn't ruin our experience. The elephants eat and walk rain or shine. We fed them watermelon slices and bananas, rind and all. Once they were done with their baskets of fruit, we ventured off on our hike. As we are walking through the pasture, we are feeding them bananas from our pouches. The elephants would let us know when they wanted another banana, either with a gentle nudge or by trying to get one out of your pouch. Once we reached the river, the elephants walked across, the dogs swam across and we jumped in a raft and floated across. After crossing the river, we continued to walk. The elephants move at a pretty slow pace, but it was nice to be able to look around and see ENP off to our right and the different herds of elephants playing (and even some cute babies). At one point, Muoy spotted a leach on our son’s leg, which we were able to remove. We walked with the elephants to their lunch area in the mountains. While the elephants enjoyed their grazing spot, we were treated to a nice lunch on a platform overlooking the entire ENP. After lunch, we walked with the elephants down to the river where we got to give them their daily bath while they ate again. These elephants eat all day long! After dropping the elephants off, we took a van ride up the river, and white water rafted back to ENP. Here we got to walk around ENP a bit more, seeing the other elephants, dogs, cats, and water buffalo they have rescued. We saw some adorable baby elephants. Watching the older elephants interact with the babies was an amazing sight to witness.