Chiang MaiTravel Guide

Spend a morning feeding and bathing elephants at a rescue sanctuary — the ethical alternative to riding. Elephant Nature Park is the most reputable.

Chiang Mai's best market runs every Sunday on Wualai Road — 1km of handicrafts, street food, hill tribe textiles, and live music from 4pm.

Morning market visit followed by learning 4–5 dishes in a family home kitchen. Chiang Mai cooking classes are better value and more authentic than Bangkok.

Sacred hilltop temple reached by 306 naga steps or cable car, with panoramic views over Chiang Mai and surrounding jungle. Most atmospheric at dawn.

Chiang Mai's evening market complex with silk, silver, handicrafts, and an outdoor food court with live Khon dance performances nightly.

The Old City's two most important temples — Wat Chedi Luang's towering 14th-century brick chedi (partially ruined by an earthquake) and Wat Phra Singh's gleaming Lanna-style halls housing the revered Phra Singh Buddha image.

A scenic drive into the Mae Rim valley leads to a multi-tiered waterfall with swimmable pools, orchid farms, and snake and butterfly farms — a cooler, greener escape from the city.

A northern Thai feast served on low tables with traditional Lanna dishes, followed by classical dance performances and hill-tribe cultural shows — a relaxed introduction to Lanna culture.

A 700-year-old temple built into wooded tunnels and mounds, with Buddha statues tucked into brick passageways and a peaceful lake where locals feed fish and pigeons — one of Chiang Mai's most atmospheric and least crowded sites.

A tram ride through dimly lit enclosures brings you close to lions, giraffes, and white rhinos after dark, with a walking trail and predator feeding shows — a popular family evening out.