|
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is the northern capital of the Kingdom and still offers visitors a true experience of the traditional ways of life. Visit hill tribes still living without the luxuries of running water or electricity and see them working on their handicrafts, ready to be sold in the local markets in town. Chiang Mai city is a wonderful mix of old and new, with restaurants and hotels slowly being added within the old city walls, next to 300 year old temples. Elephant riding, rafting and trekking are popular activities in this area.
Here are some suggestions for great things to see and do in and around Chiang Mai:
| Elephant trekking – visit an elephant park, 50kms from Chiang Mai. Ride elephants, watch them paint, play soccer, basketball and move logs the way they used to when they worked in forests. Ride an ox-cart and then float downstream on a bamboo raft. |
|
|
|
Temples – visit Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, the city’s most famous and important temple. Built in 1383, 15 kms from town on the top of a mountain, this location offers spectacular views over Chiang Mai and the surrounding area. There are 300 other temples in Chiang Mai, but this one is a must! |
|
| Trekking in National Parks – visit Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand’s best-known park. Home to Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, standing 2,565 metres above sea level, this park has beautiful waterfalls,a lush evergreen forest-cover and lively wildlife. The Meo and Karen hill-tribes live within this forest. |
|
|
|
Hill tribes – Meo, Lisu, Yao, Akha, Lawa and Karen hilltribes live throughout northern Thailand's mountains. Each tribe has distinctive ceremonial attire, courtship rituals, games, dances, agricultural customs, puberty rites, languages or dialects and hygienic habits. |
For more info on Chiang Mai, click here
|
