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Chiang Mai – Maps
Interactive Map
What to Visit ?
There are many temples to visit in Chiang Mai (more than 300 in the area). There are dozens of them inside the old city and they are all very beautiful.
Tip 1 : Try not to visit more than 3 temples a day, otherwise you will have a strong sense of “deja vu” and you may want to go to the beach.
Tip 2 : A temple may hide another impressive monument, so always enter inside the courtyard, don’t just look from the street.
Tip 3 : If you are limited in time, then visit at least :
- Outside town : Wat Phra That Doi Suthep .
- Inside town : Wat Chedi Luang + Wat Singh.
In this section :
- The mountain with the famous Wat Doi Suthep – Map
- Famous Temples in the old town of Chiang Mai – Map
- Famous Temples a little bit further of the old town of Chiang Mai- Map
- Wat Umong
- Wat Jed Yod
- Wat Suan Dok
- Wat Chedi Liam (Wat Ku Kham)
- The Southern part of the mountain of Doi Suthep – Map
- More “one day trips”, out of Chiang Mai
The mountain with the famous Wat Doi Suthep
Look at the following Map, click to enlarge :
The mountain is quite close to the old city. There are 5 attractions on it and you may need at least 2 days to visit them all :
- Wat Doi Suthep (point number 3 on the map above)
- Doi Pui Hmong – Hill Tribe Village (point number 5 on the map above)
- Wat Pha Lat (point number 2 on the map above)
- Royal Palace Bhubing (point number 4 on the map above)
- The Zoo of Chiang Mai (point number 1 on the map above)
How to arrive to the mountain of Doi Suthep ?
The temple Doi Suthep is located 15 Km (road distance) from Chiang Mai, at the north-west. See the place on map above and the interactive map above.
Option 1, Motorbike : If you can ride a motorbike then rent one and you will be master of your time and also be able to visit all the sites around. It is very easy to drive to Doi Suthep: Start from the upper left corner of the old city, then take the road that goes to the mountains. You pass the zoo and then climb the mountain, there are signs. Take a warm cloth for the ride, it can be cool. The road is in good condition.
Option 2, Organized tour : Any travel agency will propose you a half day trip to Doi Suthep, including the pick up from your hotel and a visit at Doi Pui village. The cost is about 600 Baht. The disadvantage is that you depend on their schedule, you cannot stay at the temple as much as you feel.
Option 3, with a shared SongTaew (red pick up truck) : There are SongTaew trucks going to Doi Suthep from the upper central gate of the old city (Chang Phuak gate). It costs about 60 Baht per person. The disadvantage is that you have to wait till the truck fills with passengers (and it can take time…)
There are also shared trucks going to Doi Suthep from the Chiang Mai Zoo, which is on the way.
Once you’ll arrive to Doi Suthep you will see more SongTaew trucks awaiting to continue to Doi Pui village and to return to Chiang Mai.
Option 4 , private ride: Negotiate with a SongTaew (red truck) to take you there, privately.
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (point 3 on the map)
See how to arrive + Map . See on the Interactive Map.
This is a “must visit” for all tourists. Everyone is making a picture in the famous stairs that lead to the temple on a hill. The stairs has 2 dragons on the sides.
There is a small fee to pay (for foreigners) to access the temple upstairs.
The dogs are an integral part of the place
There is also a nice view over Chiang Mai city.
Doi Pui village – the hill tribe village (point 5 on the map)
See how to arrive + Map . See on the Interactive Map.
It is located 4 Km after Doi Suthep temple, in the mountain. Usually you visit both of them.
It is a village with nice gardens and many tourists arriving all the time (but it’s still quiet and nice). There are stands that sell souvenirs.
Don’t forget to sit at the café at the top of the gardens (It is called “Hmong Doi Pui” familly coffee).
Wat Pha Lat (point number 2 on the map)
See how to arrive + Map . See on the Interactive Map.
An amazing place, I felt like I was Indiana Jones. It is less visited by tourists than the famous Wat Doi Suthep. It seems the monks don’t want to make it too famous.
There is even a waterfall.
And the entrance is free.
Royal Palace Bhubing (point number 4 on the map)
See how to arrive + Map . See on the Interactive Map.
It is one of the residences of the King. It is not possible to visit the buildings themselves, just the gardens.
There are a lot of soldiers and a lot of signs stating : “no entry”.
The gardens are nice but remember that there is also another big park with plants in Chiang Mai, called Rajapruek.
Zoo (point number1 on the map)
See how to arrive + Map . See on the Interactive Map.
A nice zoo but you need a few hours to visit it. The area is huge, it is designed to be visited by car or by foot. You just need to hope that the sun will not be too strong. There are Pandas in this zoo and also a big aquarium (extra charge).
There is a sea lion show. At the end of the show, you can give the sea lion 20 Baht (or more) and he will give you a kiss.
Famous Temples in the old town of Chiang Mai :
Look at this map with the temples mentioned here, click to enlarge :
(Or see on the interactive map above)
Wat Chedi Luang + Wat Phan Tao
A Buddhist temple, construction began in the 14th century.
Inside :
Wat Phan Tao is beside Wat Chedi :
Wat Phra Singh
A Buddhist temple, construction began in 1345.
The temple has an important Buddha statue.
There are beautiful gold elephants :
Wat Chiang Man
A Buddhist temple, construction began in 1297.
Nice elephants.
Wat Saen Lhuang Khuang
A Burmese temple
Wat Lok Molee
A Buddhist temple, first mentioned in 1367.
Wat Buppharam
Was built in 1497
Wat Ketkaram
A very nice Buddhist temple, built in 1428. You can arrive here by crossing a pedestrian bridge on the Ping river, in the area of the market Waroros.
There is 1 real dog in the following picture :
Wat Sri Suphan
This temple is silver and beautiful. Located just outside the southern part of the old city. A Buddhist temple built around the year 1500. There is a small fee to pay.
Famous Temples a little bit further of the old town of Chiang Mai
These temples are situated no more than 4 km from the old city. Use one of the way of transports to reach them.
Look this map with the temples mentioned here, click to enlarge :
(Or see on the interactive map above)
Wat Umong
This place is great. The environment is that of nature, not of a city.
It is a Buddhist temple built around the year 1300.
There are some tunnels (short ones)
A place with a lot of birds
And nice statues
Wat Jed Yod
A pleasant place. A lot of nature around. A Buddhist temple built in the year 1455.
As you can see from the picture, the main theme of the place is “the snake”.
Wat Suan Dok
This place is nice but less impressive than the previous two temples. It is close to the old city (to the west).
A Buddhist temple built around 1300.
Wat Chedi Liam (formerly known as Wat Ku Kham)
It means : Temple of the Squared Pagoda. Yes, there is a nice pagoda here but the environment is less special (compared to Wat Umong, for example).
A Buddhist temple built in the year 1287
The Southern part of the mountain of Doi Suthep
Look at the following Map, click to enlarge :
See also on the Interactive Map.
Wat Phra That Doi Kham
The attraction in this temple is a huge Buddha and also a nice view over the city.
How to arrive to Doi Kham ?
It is located in the same mountains as Doi Suthep, but more to the south, you need a different road to get there.
The easiest way to arrive is with a motorbike : First arrive to the airport zone and then continue towards the mountains (there are signs).
See the place on the interactive map above.
Other options to arrive : Negotiate with a SongTaew truck or check organized, one day tours.
Royal park Rajapruek
This park is located just before Doi Kham temple. So if you arrive by motorbike, you can visit both.
See the place on the interactive map above.
The place is huge and there is a Tram that makes a tour inside.
A visit here can be relaxing if you really like gardens and you have a lot of time and you are heat resistant.
More “one day trips”, out of Chiang Mai
I have mentioned the main attractions outside Chiang Mai, but there are many more. You can visit them alone with a rented motorbike (or car) or you can take an organized, one day tour.
One of the popular tour is to visit an elephant camp and then ride them.
Some of the elephant tours are more ethical and instead of riding an elephant, you take care of them during one day. The issue is that the elephants are trained cruelly so that tourists could ride them. In my opinion, if you care about animals so the best is to be Vegetarian and not to eat them (visit my Veg page).
From Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai and Pai
After a few days in Chiang Mai, you can continue to explore the north of Thailand. The zone of the city of Chiang Rai is very interesting. There are beautiful temples in the suburbs (the blue, temple, the white temple…) and also attractions more distant (the golden triangle, tea plantations…). You can visit the pages about Chiang Rai with infos about how to arrive, where to stay and what to visit. Pai is a small town, near the border of Myanmar. A peaceful place with a river and a countryside. Especially popular by backpackers. You can visit the pages about Pai, with all the necessary info.
Guided Tours in Chiang Mai
- See guided tours in Chiang Mai with Viator.
- See guided tours in Thailand with Viator.
Back to Page 1 of Chiang Mai
More on Bangkok and Thailand :
- Where to Stay in Bangkok – Potential Zones for the Hotel
- How to book Trains, Buses, Flights, Hotels for Thailand
- What to Visit in Bangkok ? – The Tourist Attractions
- Bangkok Transport – Airport, Metro, Buses, Boats…
- To the Islands – Which Island to visit + Stay + Arrive
- To Chiang-Mai – What to Visit, Stay, Transport
- To Pattaya city – What to Visit, Stay, Transport
- The Cost to Visit Bangkok – Common Prices
- The Nightlife of Bangkok – The animated zones
- Visa for Thailand- Basic rules and how to extend
- Internet in Thailand – Buying a local SIM
- Useful Products for the Trip to Thailand
- Maps of Bangkok – With places of interest and Transport
- Bangkok FAQ – Weather, Distances etc…
- Bangkok Shopping – The big Malls and the Markets
- The Khaosan Road Survival Guide – The famous Backpackers
- A Tour of Bangkok – An overview
- Taxi Scams in Bangkok – Common Scams of Taxi and Tuk-Tuks
- Go-Go Bar Scams in Bangkok – What to expect
- Vegetarian in Bangkok
Other Stuff :
- Info about 2 more cool cities: Barcelona and Tel-Aviv
- What to Pack ? the visual list that will help you prepare the suitcase.
- Visit my Vegetarian Page. Why be Vegetarian ? What to eat ?
- Visit my Salsa Dance Page. Salsa main Styles. Why Dance Salsa ?
- Listen to nice Songs with translation in French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew.
- Listen to basic Words In Spanish, French, Hebrew
If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.
