Golden Lanna temple roofs and a brick chedi under blue sky in Chiang Mai

Highlands · Thailand

Chiang Mai

Lanna Temples & Northern Hills

Best time
November to February
Location
Thailand

About Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was the capital of the Lanna kingdom for five hundred years, and it still doesn't feel like the rest of Thailand — the temples are teak rather than concrete, the food is Burmese-inflected and the mountains start almost at the edge of the moat. Inside the old square walls there are more than thirty working monasteries in a couple of square kilometres. Outside them the Ping valley climbs quickly into Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep, into waterfalls, coffee smallholdings and Karen and Hmong villages. November to February is the season: dry, twenty-eight degrees in the day, cool enough at night for a jacket in the hills, and clear of the March burning haze.

Good to know

Flight time
4h 30m from Kolkata via Bangkok, 6h from Delhi
Currency
Thai Baht (THB)
Language
Thai and Northern Thai; English widely spoken
Visa
Visa-free for Indian passports, 60 days

What you'll do

The four we'd book first

  1. Alms at dawn

    Monks on their round through the old town just after six, when the streets are cool and the only sound is the temple bells.

  2. A day with elephants

    At a genuine sanctuary in the Mae Taeng valley — feeding, mud and river, no riding, no bullhooks, no performances.

  3. Doi Inthanon at 2,565 m

    Thailand's highest point, the twin royal chedis, a cloud forest boardwalk, and rice terraces on the way back down.

  4. Khao soi at a market stall

    Curried noodle soup with crisp noodles on top, a wedge of lime and pickled greens — the north's one indispensable dish.

Curated itineraries

Chiang Mai packages

Gilded Lanna temples before the heat arrives, an elephant sanctuary in the Mae Taeng valley, and the night bazaar once the sun goes down.

*Per person on twin sharing. Prices move with season and availability — we confirm yours in writing before anything is booked.

Still deciding

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Plan this trip

Tell us how you'd like to see Chiang Mai.

Any of these six is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Send us the dates and who's travelling, and a planner will come back with a version built round you — usually within twelve hours.

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