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Must-sees & Must-Dos in Chiang Mai?

What to to in Chiang Mai? Must-see and visit places

What to do and see in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, the northern capital and its 300 temples is also a gateway to the nature, the jungle and the hill tribes. It is the starting point for many treks but the city itself with its historic center surrounded by ramparts and moats also has a lot of charm. The most famous place in Chiang Mai is the Doi Suthep temple. Its night bazaar is also very popular with tourists.
I also listed at the end of the page some good tours, excursions and activities that you can do in Chiang Mai or from Chiang Mai. Click here to see them.

Sommaire

The must-see places in Chiang Mai
Other recommended visits in Chiang Mai
Activities and excursions in Chiang Mai
Excursions from Chiang Mai

Must-visit places in Chiang Mai

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

วัดพระธาตุดอยสุเทพ

My opinion :

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A must see. On the top of a mountain, it is the most famous temple in the area. It is very popular with the thais and of course tourists and offers a magnificent view (often more clear in late afternoon) on Chiang Mai

Wat Phra Singh

วัดพระสิงห์

My opinion :

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The most visited temple in the city, it is a perfect illustration of the nothern architectural style

Sunday Walking Street

ถนนคนเดินเชียงใหม่ วันอาทิตย์

My opinion :

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This big night market takes place every Sunday night in the center of Chiang Mai including food stands in two temples. A popular ambience. We really suggest you to go even if you will not be alone !

Doi Inthanon

อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยอินทนนท์

My opinion :

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It is the highest mountain in Thailand and also one very interesting national park near Chiang Mai's. People like to go there especially for treks, discovering nature, birds, flowers, waterfalls, mountain villages and rice fields. And of course the two pagodas on the summit.

Wat Palad

วัดผาลาด

My opinion :

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is a charming forest temple with superb refined statues and a quiet and pleasant atmosphere. A small haven of peace often ignored by the many tourists who pass right by each day in their ascent to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep a few kilometers higher.

Saturday Walking Street

ถนนคนเดินวัวลาย

My opinion :

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Big night market a little less known than Sunday Walking Street, Chiang Mai Saturday Walking Street also attracts a lot of people and allows you to do a little shopping and have dinner by tasting the local cuisine at the very numerous stalls and street restaurants. The neighboring Silver Temple is also superbly lit and open to the public these evenings.

Silver Temple

วัดศรีสุพรรณ

My opinion :

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As its name suggests this temple is known for its hall covered internally and externally with silver finely carved or engraved. It is particularly beautiful at night with its colorful illuminations. Next to Saturday Walking Street, it's worth visiting it at the same time you enjoy the traditional Saturday pedestrian street in Chiang Mai.

Ban Pa Pong Piang rice terraces

บ้านป่าบงเปียง

My opinion :

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This tiny village in the mountains of Doi Inthanon has, it is said, the most beautiful rice terraces in Thailand. I do not know if it is true but yes, they are superb. Staying up there in spartan conditions is one of the most beautiful experiences you can experience in Chiang Mai province during the rainy season.

San Kamphaeng Hot Springs

น้ำพุร้อนสันกำแพง

My opinion :

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These naturally warm water sources are probably the most famous hots srpings among those close to Chiang Mai. You can soak your feet in the hot mineral water, cook eggs, or bathe fully and swim in the hot mineral water pool and get a massage of course. A nice relaxing outing!

Bo Sang Umbrella making village

บ่อสร้าง

My opinion :

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This village a few kilometers from Chiang Mai is famous for its traditional umbrella making. Throughout the year, you can go there and visit the workshops to see all the stages of the confection and in January is held a big festival. In the village, umbrellas are ubiquitous but there are also workshops of silver work, wood carving...

Elephant Nature Park

My opinion :

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It is the elephant sanctuary of reference in Thailand. There, you are sure to live a beautiful and respectful encounter with elephants. Because even if things slowly change (thanks to the work of Lek Chailert the founder of the park and the people she gathered around her), there are still many elephant camps or so-called sanctuaries where animal welfare is not a concern.

Straw King Kong statues

คิงคองฟางยักษ์

My opinion :

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These giant King Kong statues built with rice straw became in a few months one of the great curiosities in Chiang Mai. They are installed near Huay Thung Tao Lake about ten kilometers from the city.

Sticky Waterfall (Bua Thong waterfall)

น้ำตกบัวตอง

My opinion :

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The Bua Thong waterfall, a 1-hour drive from Chiang Mai city is nicknamed Sticky Waterfall because of its naturally gripping coating which allows you to climb it by its bed very easily. That's also why people go to visit it: to climb the waterfall!

Find a room in Chiang Mai

Other nice places to visit in Chiang Mai

Wat Chedi Luang

starstarstarstarstar with its beautiful chedi. Here, you can meet and chat with buddhists monks in a dedicated spacee

Wat Luang Khun Win

starstarstarstarstar This temple lost in the jungle more than a 1h30 drive from Chiang Mai is a real little hidden gem that for the moment very few foreign tourists know about and yet it is worth a visit. Be careful, its access is a bit complicated, especially the last 5 kilometers of a dirt track in the forest.

Wat Ched Yod

starstarstarstar just a little outside of town on the the highway,he has beautifully preserved stucco carvings.

Wat U-Mong

starstarstarstar (the one just outside the city. There is another temple with the same name attractive in the city center ). In the forest, with underground sanctuaries, in the nature and with one little lake, Wat U Mong is a very relaxing place.

Huay Thung Tao Lake

starstarstarstar This reservoir with mountains in the background is located about ten kilometers from the center of Chiang Mai and is a good place to relax with family, enjoy the lake and its activities (swimming, pedal boats, kayak ...) and eat good food. The restaurants serve very good Thai food at very affordable prices that you eat in small huts.

Wat Phra That Doi Saket

starstarstarstar This temple stands on a hill 27 kilometers outside Chiang Mai and looks a bit like Wat Phra That Doi Suthep with its golden chedi but is smaller and less touristy. A little further up, there is a temple which offers a magnificent view of the surroundings especially during the rainy season.

Muang On Cave

starstarstarstar The interior of this cave on the road from Chiang Mai to San Kamphaeng Hot Springs is really impressive. This is a stop that I recommend you to do before diving into the hot mineral water pool a few kilometers further or when you go to see Bo Sang handicraft village.

Wat Ban Den

starstarstarstar This gigantic temple about fifty kilometers from Chiang Mai city located in the Mae Taeng district is quite famous. There are many buildings and amazing statues sometimes flashy colors. Many people say it is the most beautiful temple in the area. I have a different opinion but go there to make yours.

Wiang Kum Kam

starstarstarstar Wiang Kum Kam is an ancient city in which there are ruins of temples that are 5 or 6 centuries old and others a little more recent. It is especially a god site for bike rides in its small streets, to discover its temples. Little known to tourists, this is not a must visit in Chiang Mai but a place that I personally like.

Fire massage village (Yam Khang massage)

starstarstarstar The small village of Ban Rai Kong Khing is famous for an astonishing type of massage practiced by very, very few people: Yam Khang massage. Nicknamed fire massage, it is impressive but also has recognized virtues. The village, organized as a community, also offers other activities including cooking classes

Chiang Mai Zoo

starstarstar just before the several kilometers rise up to the Doi Suthep mountain, it mainly famous because of its pandas couple and their baby. It is very large and has many animal species.

Wat Pan Tao

starstarstar and its magnificent Lanna style teak building which was a royal residence before being transformed into a temple.

Wat Chiang Man

starstarstar this is the first temple built in Chiang Mai and therefore the oldest one in the city.

Wat Lok Molee

starstarstar small temple that is often missed but has a large brick chedi and beautiful a wooden hall.

Wat Phra That Doi Kham

starstarstar This temple full of charm is perched on a mountain and little known by foreign tourists. But is quite interesting and offers among other things a beautiful view over the valley where you can see the Royal Park Rajapruek. A nice place to couple with the visit of Rajapruek floral park .

Royal Park Rajapruek

starstarstar This large floral park dedicated to King Rama IX is about ten kilometers from Chiang Mai. There are many plants and flowers including a charming orchid garden. The best time to visit it is from December to February when many flowers are blooming. You will also find a nice royal pavilion there.

Huay Kaew Waterfall

starstarstar It is the easiest waterfall to reach from Chiang Mai city. Located at the foot of the Doi Suthep mount, it can be a pleasant stop after visiting the perched temple. Just be aware that at the end of the dry season, the water level can be very low and therefore the waterfall far less interesting.

Grand Canyon

starstarstar Natural Canyon filled with fresh water, 18 km from Chiang Mai, the place hosts two parks, a large waterpark with plenty of elements including inflatable ones and another quieter, more beautiful and cheaper where you can also swim and cross the canyon on a zippeline.

Wat Ton Kwen

starstarstar This small temple and its wooden hall located about fifteen kilometers from Chiang Mai does not lack of charm. Very fe tourists go visit it. Foreigners are really not numerous to go there since many of whom are unaware of its existence but it is a nice quick stop to add on the road to Rajapruek Park or Wat Phra That Doi Kham.

Kuan Im Chokchai chinese temple

starstarstar You will not find this surprising little Chinese temple in any travel book guide. However, it is worth visiting it for its dragon and tiger statues crossed by corridors with colorful murals. An amazing visit that may change to all what you saw during your stay in Chiang Mai...

Wat Muen Ngoen Kong

starstarstar Little known temple but not lacking in charm. It has a lovely lanna-style ordination hall, a golden chedi and a reclining Buddha in one of its halls.

Elephant Poopoo Paper Park

starstarstar It's a nice place to visit especially with kids that shows you its process of turning elephant dung into paper. You can get your hands dirty and there are workshops to create products based on this paper.

Khlong Mae Kha

starstarstar A small portion of the Mae Kha Canal in the city of Chiang Mai has been cleaned up and renovated and became since 2021 one of the new popular places in the city. Not the most unmissable visit in Chiang Mai but a charming place that hosts more and more events.

Wat Suan Dok

starstar not particularly interesting to visit but like in Wat Chedi Luang you can meet the monks to discuss with them

Bhubing Palace

starstar The interior of this royal palace can not be visited but people come for its gardens, its rose garden, its reservoir, its winter flowers, its centenarian ferns... Not a must visit in my opinion but that will interest flowers and plants lovers and it is not far from Doi Suthep temple.

Warorot Market

starstar It is the largest and most frequented market in Chiang Mai. On 3 floors in two large buildings separated by a street, there are many things to buy and tourists come for the curiosity to visit this amazing big market.

Pha Chor Grand Canyon

starstar This canyon located a 1 hour drive from Chiang Mai. It is famous for its rocky walls with columns shaped by natural erosion over centuries. People sometimes call Pha Chor, the Grand Canyon of Thailand despite its rather modest dimensions.

Wat Buppharam

star which has certainly a historical and architectural interest but is best remembered for his statue of Donald

Tours in Chiang Mai and around

This selection includes tours, excursions and activities to do in Chiang Mai that I personally tested or were tested by people I fully trust and offers by recognized agencies or websites known for their seriousness and quality.