Chiang Mai Food and Doi Suthep Temple Tour

The Samlors, living heritage of Chiang Mai

Your guide will meet you at the hotel at 0800.  Drive to Wat Loi Kroh, where we will meet our samlor drivers on your Chiang Mai Food Tour and Temple Tour. Without much further ado, we start our tour. This morning we will entirely focus on traditional food and drink. Nothing else is on our mind than eating and drinking.

Our traditional bicycle taxis will bring us to markets, food stalls, and restaurants that offer a bewildering variety of snacks and drinks. First, we will visit the San Pakoy Market. We have selected several snacks and beverages to taste and made sure that you will not feel stuffed after the tour.

A great Chiang Mai Food Tour!

We are in Chiang Mai, but some of what you will taste this morning originate in India, China, Vietnam, and Burma. In that respect, this tour is also a bit of a history lesson. Over the centuries, migrants brought their favorite specialties to Chiang Mai. More than anything else, the local food scene shows Chiang Mai’s diversity. The morning’s highlight is Kad Luang, the complex of the two most famous and colorful markets: Warorot and Ton Lam Yai.

There is a story behind each snack or drink. Of course, typical Chiang Mai snacks are also on the menu. At each stop, we take our time. At some places, you will see delicious snacks prepared in front of you. There is plenty of time for interaction with the sellers and for pictures. We will also buy the picnic lunch that we will enjoy on the Monk’s Trail. Before we finish the tour at Wat Loi Kroh, you will enjoy a glass of Burmese medicinal tea from a shop that opened its doors more than 100 years ago. At around 1230, the tour will end at Wat Loi Kroh, where your vehicle is waiting for you.

The Monk’s Trail on Doi Suthep

We briefly visit Wat Umong, an unusual temple with a great atmosphere. “Umong” means tunnel in the Thai language. There are a couple of tunnels, hence the name. We continue to the start of our short hike. The famous Monk’s Trail is an old trekking trail before constructing the road from Chiang Mai Zoo to the stairs leading to Doi Suthep Temple.

Followers of the Monk Kruba Srivichai built the road that officially opened on April 30, 1935. We only hike the first part of the trail that leads to the small forest temple Wat Pha Lat (sometimes spelled as Wat Palat or Wat Palad. Along the way, we will eat our snacks/lunch. Along the way, there are some beautiful views of the city. The hike is not steep and will not take more than 45 mins. At Wat Pha Lat, our vehicle will wait for us to bring us to Wat Doi Suthep, without a doubt the most famous and revered temple of Chiang Mai.

The Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the temple on the mountain

This temple is Chiang Mai’s must-see temple. We will arrive there in the late afternoon when most people are leaving. We recommend you walk up the 300 steps instead of taking the elevator. Take your time. Doi Suthep is considered a sacred mountain by the people of Chiang Mai.

Your guide will explain the history of the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and you can make some offerings. Views from the temple are magnificent if the skies are clear. You can see Chiang Mai airport. We will spend time here before we descend. At the bottom of the mountain, we will stop briefly to pay our respects to Kruba Srivichai, the “patron saint” of the North. Then we head back to the hotel. We hope you enjoyed our Chiang Mai Food and Temple tour.