Chiang Mai things to do:
Right then, we better get cracking and have a look at all the highlights of this wonderful city.
Head up above the city to Doi Suthep
Looming above the city of Chiang Mai is the mountain of Doi Suthep and the glittering temple which sits on top of it. Jump on a bike and ride up the winding roads towards the summit and feel the change in temperature shift literally over one turn.
Or grab your hiking boots and follow the sacred Monks Trail up here following a path of orange robes tied around tree branches. On your list of Chiang Mai things to do this has to be a must-do, you haven’t really visited this city properly until you’ve been up here!
Don’t forget to stop along the way to visit the many smaller temples and waterfalls as well as soak in the magnificent view over this mountainous region of Northern Thailand. It’s a peaceful retreat that makes a great ride or magnificent hike heading up to Doi Suthep is one of the reasons why Chiang Mai seems to have it all!
Watching the sun go down over the city from up here as the smell of incense burned into snake-like wisps, the hanging charms dance a jangling pitch and the monks sing sweetly in the background is one of the most magical experiences we’ve ever had. In fact, whenever I give anyone any advice for visiting Thailand, this is the number one place I tell them to visit.
Experience the best of Thai food for next to nothing!
Chiang Mai is a food lover heaven. From bustling market stalls with an amazing array of local foods including Pad Thai and Red Curry for ridiculously cheap prices to trendy food markets offering up gourmet burgers, burritos and grilled cheese… amongst a whole host of other treats.
The city also has some great cafes as well as more upmarket dining options all for amazing prices. Food is a big part of the best Chiang Mai things to do! It’s also probably one of the reasons the city is one of the best places for digital nomads too.
As veggies, we were also spoilt for choice with a dedicated stall on the local markets, a vegan cafe called Morning Glory and plenty of veggie burgers, hot dogs, pizzas and Mexican dishes on offer!
Buy the weird and wonderful on the weekend markets
By this point, I’ve been to a LOT of markets all across Southeast Asia and those usually catering for the tourist crowd I can tell you are around 90% the same gear wherever you are!
It’s strangely reassuring in a way, if you forget to buy something in one country you can bet it will turn up again a few weeks down the road, but it’s also pretty uninspiring and symbolic of the dumbing down of the rich cultures of each region for “craft markets” aimed at tourists.
However, Chiang Mai, especially for a large city, does seem to have one of the most varied selections on offer with each stall genuinely offering something different on the famed weekend markets. Sure, it does also have some of the usual tat, but we were pleasantly surprised by the products on offer here as well as the colour and life of the happening marketplace!
Our Favourite Backpacks
We’ve used the Osprey Farpoint/ Fairview for all our backpacking adventures over the past 5 years and highly recommend them!
The main area of the pack opens like a suitcase, which is great for using packing cubes to keep everything organised and they even come with a detachable day pack!
Visit the many stunning temples
Chiang Mai might be known as a modern and happening city on the digital nomad circuit but it is also quite a traditional and religious place too. The old centre of the city has a wealth of amazing temples and as a result, it is quite a common sight to see the orange robe-clad monks wandering gracefully around town.
Temples such as Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh offer the most well-known and historic sights. Partially ruined by the ancient Royal temples of the Chiang Mai kings, Wat Chedi Luang is part relic and part shimmering working temple, it really is a wonderfully peaceful place despite the crowds.
But if you really want to tour the city’s temples then there are so many more out there, the most impressive and important include Wat Suan Dok, Wat Pan Tao, Wat Pansao, Wat Lok Malee, Wat Sri Suphan (The silver temple), Wat Chiang Man and Wat Jet Yot.
Each of these offers a historic, atmospheric and beautiful look into ancient Chiang Mai.
For those even more interested in the religious side of the city you can even attend the regular “monk chats”, morning Almsgiving and even meditation classes! The city is a religious centre too so visiting at least the main temples is a must on our Chiang Mai things to-do list!
Sort Your Tours & Tickets Out
A great site to check out if you’re looking to book tickets or organise a tour is Viator
Viator often offers different tours to other companies, ones that aren’t otherwise available or have tickets still on sale when they have sold out. It’s the company we trust the most when it comes to booking top quality, unique and exciting tours when travelling.
Go trekking and see the rural side of Chiang Mai
One of the best things about Chiang Mai is the diversity of things to do and see. On the surface, it is a busy city of medium size that spreads out further than you initially suspected. It’s modern, full of everything you could ever wish for, hip and happening.
But travel just an hour outside of the city and the Thailand you know and love changes dramatically. The modern country begins to fade into memory and villages complete with bamboo huts and deeply traditional ways begin to appear. A trekking tour is the best way to experience it.
It’s a refreshing change from the multinational feel of Chiang Mai and also a chance to get out into the dense jungles and bat-filled caves of the region. Trekking can last anything from an afternoon to a few days of hiking and sleeping in villages in the steep jungles of Northern Thailand.
Bathing in rivers, walking for hours and meeting the minority tribes of the region. This really is a very rewarding and eye-opening part of Thailand to discover!
Swing like a Gibbon through the jungle
If hiking is a little on the tame side for you… or like us, if you just can’t get enough of this enchanting environment then you can strap your harness on and fly like a gibbon. Well, maybe not all that gracefully but around the jungle-lined outskirts of the city there are many amazing high ropes and zipline courses to take your pick from.
They allow you to take a bird’s eye view of the amazing ecosystem here in Northern Thailand or if you want just have an amazingly fun day swinging around 100ft above the forest floor!
Our favourite, and the original, has to be the Flight of The Gibbon. This course is mostly centred around ziplines with them having the longest jungle top line in the world at almost 1km long.
Not only that but by visiting this wonderful place you are also contributing to the conservation of this cute and cheeky endangered species. In the city of adventures ziplining is a must on our Chiang Mai things to-do list!
SafetyWing Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is one of those annoying things that no one likes to think about, let alone pay for, when you’re planning your next trip. It can also be bloody annoying as a backpacker/long-term traveller to find affordable coverage that meets the itinerary-less lifestyle (*cough* World Nomads *cough*).
So instead of getting subpar travel insurance, now we just always go with SafetyWing. It takes like 5-10 minutes to purchase your policy and essentially functions as a monthly subscription plan with near-global coverage!
Look after the amazing elephants
You can’t come to Chiang Mai without seeing the most amazing inhabitants of this region, the beautiful Asian elephants, its top of our Chiang Mai things to do list! However, choosing the right place is key to making this a trip to remember for all the right reasons or one to be ashamed of.
The practice of riding elephants is one that is cruel and completely abhorrent, these gentle giants are tortured into submission and spend years in pain as their fragile spines are not designed to carry anything on their backs, despite what their size might have you think.
But spend the day, or even longer, at either Elephant Nature Park or Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and you can have the most amazing day looking after and interacting with these wonderful animals.
This gives you a chance to not only get up close to these stunning and characterful creatures but also contribute to their rescue, rehabilitation and care rather than their suffering. We had one of the most amazing days of our 7 months in Asia here and it totally exceeded our expectations!
Rent a bike and ride up to the amazing hippy heaven of Pai
Some 762 turns from Chiang Mai along a winding mountain road brings you to the hippy paradise of Pai, a place that can’t fail to make you happy!
This relaxed backpacker’s heaven set in a wonderfully beautiful landscape is like an escape from the pressures and the horrors of the modern world into one where anything goes and it usually does.
From living in huts practising circus stills to lazing in hot springs, watching the sunset over the canyon or lazing your day away in a hammock after eating your way through the street food stalls, Pai has a lasting charm that will keep you dreaming of its wonders long after you have left… if you ever do!
We recommend taking your own bike up here, but we warned the roads do often cause first-timers to fall foul of their challenging contours.
If you fancy yet more adventure then take the bike along even more turns to the amazing Lod Cave where you can take a bamboo raft through its enormous caverns and glance at mysterious thousand-year-old coffins!
Even though it’s not in the city itself heading off to Pai is a backpacker’s rite of passage and one of the top Chiang Mai things to do!
Stay a while and become entranced by this wonderful city!
Chiang Mai has an endless list of amazing things to see and do, even just being here is a treat as the city has such a unique and welcoming atmosphere. Chiang Mai is a place to stay a while, relax and explore.
We stayed at City Capsule Hostel which cost us £2 a night per bed for amazing capsule pods, we met some amazing people here too including the owner Boon who is just the loveliest man and such a great help when figuring out what to do and where to go!
But if you are after somewhere a bit more lively then there are some great party hostels in Chiang Mai, it really is a city where there is something for every type of traveller.
We even rented our bikes through them and they let us keep our things here whilst on the trekking tour overnight in a locker and our big bags whilst in Pai for a week! Our Chiang Mai things to-do list could go on and on really, we just love this place!
Book your transport across Thailand and Asia here:
Read how we arrived in Chiang Mai on the 2-day slow boat down the Mekong from Laos: The Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai slow boat.
Final Thoughts On Things To Do In Chiang Mai, Thailand.
There you have it, I’ve covered some of my favourite things to do whilst in Chiang Mai and the surrounding areas. It’s one of the best places we’ve been, not just in Thailand but in the whole region too. We just fell entirely in love with it.
Be sure to get yourselves ready for your trip by sorting out your Thailand packing list once you’ve decided on all the epic places you’re going to be visiting in Chiang Mai and beyond.
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Hi Nic,
We love the place. Been there 5 times and it gets better every time….AND it feels more like home every time too. Loving your pics. That Thai food is cheap, right? Lunch for 2 at a local Buddhist veggie place cost us 2 USD, with 3 curries, rice and water. Insane.
Ryan
Such an amazing place isn’t it, I really would love to return and stay there much longer, though it was one of the places we did stay the longest. Love that Thai food, can’t beat it for taste and price!
This looks like an amazing trip! I know it would definitely be my food paradise. I can’t wait to make it to Thailand, it’s been on my to-do list for ages.
Thanks, yeah its such a cool city, I knew we would love it but not this much!!
I missed this place during my trip to Thailand. Will cover Chiang Mai during my next visit. A lot cheaper than south Thailand I guess.
ahh, maybe next time then, yes very cheap up there absolutely loved it!
I’ve never been to Chiang Mai but your post really has me wanting to go, not least for the amazing food there, and then there are the temples, and the beautiful landscapes around. One to add to my wishlist!
So much to do up there and a really laid back atmosphere, you will love it!
One city I want to explore in Thailand. Sounds like there is more to do here than in Bangkok. 😀 So cant wait to see the temples up there.
It actually has you know, thought I loved Bangkok but Chiang Mai takes it for me!
There are so many different sides to Chiang Mai, as it is evident from your post. I have only read about the temples till now. This post is an eye-opener.
Yes, such a wonderful place, can’t wait to return some day!
I’m such a fan of Chiang Mai too having been there a couple of times. There really is so much to do there but it seems it really does feel like home for most that visit, hence the big expat population I would say. So glad you found a reputable place to visit the elephants away from the terrible riding attractions. Great guide.
Yeah, its such an awesome place to go back to isn’t it, just somewhere you fall in love with. I can see why so many people choose to live there.
Yes, I do believe it’s quite easy to fall in love with Chiang Mai for all the reasons you’ve mentioned. I would add that after a hard day of pounding the pavement, you can get a great Thai massage for next to nothing as well. I love the feet massages.
Ha ha, yes that is just one more thing to add to the list! Amazing place!
I’ve spent so much time there and haven’t even done all of these things! I would love to go back and do some of these. Chiang Mai is one of my favorite cities in the world.
There is even more we didn’t do too, I am sure it will be somewhere we will return to many times!
I’ve only ever heard great things about Chiang Mai ,especially from expats. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I went to Chiang Mai once in the early 2000. I don’t recall the city, but I do remember all the food we had. They were delicious! Also the monks, the wats, and a trip to the Long Neck village. Night market was great, too!
I imagine it has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years. I’d love to see what it was like back then. The food is amazing in that region for sure too. You still see a lot of monks but it is very much built up now, quite different to places like Luang Prabang where you see the monks wandering around all day.