Chiang Mai

The Capital of a Separate Kingdom

Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of Lanna, a kingdom that was not part of Siam and did not become part of Thailand until the twentieth century. That history is still visible: the temple architecture, the dialect and the food are all different, and the old city remains a square of brick ramparts and moat about a mile on each side, full of teak monasteries. Around it has grown a modern city of universities, craft workshops, coffee roasters and a large expatriate population. It is the counterweight to Bangkok, cooler, slower and easier to spend a week in.

The planning decision: the city, the hills, or both

Three nights covers the old city, the temples and the food properly. Five gives you the countryside, which is where the trip usually improves: the Mae Rim and Mae Taeng valleys north of town, the mountains around Doi Inthanon, and the road up to Chiang Rai and the Mekong. The other decision to make early is the elephant question, because it shapes the itinerary and it deserves a straight answer. There are genuine sanctuaries that do not offer riding, do not perform, and exist to retire animals from logging and tourism, and many places that use the word and do none of that. We will only put you in the first category, which means booking earlier and driving further out.

The cool season, and the burning season to avoid

November through February is the reason to come. Days are warm and dry, evenings are properly cool, and in December and January it can drop into the fifties Fahrenheit at night, which is a relief after the rest of Thailand. Loy Krathong and Yi Peng, the lantern festivals in November, fall in this window and fill the city. March through May is hot, and February through April is the burning season, when fields across the north and neighboring countries are cleared and air quality in the Chiang Mai valley can become genuinely poor, sometimes among the worst readings in the world. That is not a detail to discover on arrival: if you are sensitive to air quality, or traveling with children or older parents, avoid those months. June through October is the green season, humid with afternoon rain, the hills at their best and the city quiet.

Where to base, and how far out to go

Inside or immediately around the old city walls puts you among the temples and within walking distance of the Sunday walking street and the food. Nimmanhaemin, west of the moat, is the modern district of cafés, design shops and the best coffee, and suits longer stays. The Ping riverbanks east of the center are quieter and greener. The Mae Rim valley twenty to forty minutes north holds the resort properties in rice fields and hills, which is a different holiday, better for rest and worse for spontaneity. Chiang Mai International is fifteen minutes from the old city, an hour and ten from Bangkok.

Stay strategy between the walls and the valley

Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai sits in terraced rice paddies in Mae Rim with pavilions around the fields, and it is the classic northern Thai address. Anantara Chiang Mai occupies a riverside site near the center and gets the balance between city and calm right. Raya Heritage is a smaller riverside property built around northern craft. 137 Pillars House is a restored teak building from the old Borneo Company compound with a handful of suites. Rachamankha, inside the walls, is a quiet monastery inspired courtyard hotel and the best base for temple mornings. Below that, the city has an unusually good small hotel market for the money.

When to begin

Four to five months for the cool season, and six for Loy Krathong, Christmas and New Year, when the city genuinely fills. The elephant sanctuaries that operate properly take small daily numbers and book out well ahead, so those dates are set first and the rest follows. Cooking schools with the good teachers run on a similar pattern, and festival dates move with the lunar calendar and should be confirmed for your year.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Doi Suthep at dawn, climbing the naga stairway before the coaches, with the city still under mist below the terrace.
• A day at an ethical elephant sanctuary that does not offer rides or shows, where the work is observation, feeding and river washing rather than performance.
• A northern Thai eating itinerary with a guide, through khao soi, sai ua sausage, nam prik noom and the Chang Phuak night stalls.
• A craft day in the workshops at Baan Tawai and San Kamphaeng, or a full cooking course that starts in a village market.

Who this trip suits

Chiang Mai suits food travelers, since northern cooking is the most distinctive regional kitchen in the country. It suits families, because it is safe, gentle and full of things to do outdoors. It suits anyone interested in craft, textiles, Buddhist architecture or meditation. It suits travelers wanting a break from heat and beach mid trip. And it suits repeat visitors to Thailand who have already done the south.

When another plan may fit better

If you want beaches, they are a flight away and Phuket or Koh Samui should carry that half of the trip. If you want scale, nightlife and a serious restaurant scene, Bangkok is an hour by air and does it far better. And if your dates fall between February and April, we will say so directly, because the air quality in those months can spoil an otherwise excellent week.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

Tell us your month, whether the hills, Chiang Rai or the beaches follow and how the elephant day should be handled, and we will book the sanctuary and the guides first and set the city around them. Our luxury leisure travel planning builds the whole Thai route rather than the north in isolation.