Things to do in Chiang Dao
Table of Contents
Why you should you visit Chiang Dao with us
- Chiang Dao District and the town of Chiang Dao, its capital, are close to the City of Chiang Mai (70km) and can be easily reached by private car of public transportation.
- The Chiang Dao Cave Temple is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Northern Thailand
- The district has Thailand’s third-highest peak and tallest limestone mountain: Doi Luang Chiang Dao aka Doi Chiang Dao (2175m). Climbing Doi Luang Chiang Dao was one of the great activities in the district in the past but is currently almost un-bookable, unfortunately.
- The Pha Daeng national Park (formerly the Chiang Dao National Park) and the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary are in Chiang Dao district. Doi Chiang Dao is, since 2021, a UNESCO Biodiversity Sphere. Parts of the Sri Lanna National Park also extend into the district.
- Chiang Dao district has a very diverse and interesting population. Besides the Northern Thai people there are Yunnan Chinese, Chin Haw and Shan (Tai Yai) living in the district. It also has many indigenous groups such as the Akha, Lisu, Karen, Hmong, Lahu and even Dara-ang (Palong) and Kachin, who more recently arrived from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
- Chiang Dao district has many interesting local Buddhist temples that are seldom visited by tourists.
- It has fascinating and off-the-beaten-track communities on the Thai-Myanmar border such as Piang Luang and Arunothai, formerly known as Ban Nong Uk.
- Green Trails have organized variety of sightseeing and trekking trips into the mountains of Chiang Dao district for many year and has supported several indigenous villages for many years.
- Chiang Mai a la Carte specializes in more cultural and historically orientated, customized trips to the district. Chiang Dao is also the gateway to remote Doi Angkhang, one of our favorite areas in Northern Thailand
The Chiang Dao Cave Temple
The limestone cave of Chiang Dao is the most famous and popular attraction of the district. The cave is part of an extensive and very interesting temple complex at the foot of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, Thailand’s third highest mountain.
Doi Luang Chiang Dao
Doi Luang Chiang Dao, or Doi Chiang Dao, as many people refer to it, is the third-highest mountain in Thailand and the highest limestone mountain in the country. UNESCO approved the mountain as a Biosphere Reserve in September 2021. In 1978 the Thai government established the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 521 square km. The Doi Chiang Dao Biosphere reserve covers a larger area of about 860 square km.
German botanist Carl Curt Hosseus was the first to explore the mountain in early 2006 and write a story about it. I climbed up to the summit twice, in 2012 and 2015. At that time villagers organized the trip under a Community-Based Tourism (CBT) group. After the UNESCO approval the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary took over the organization and restricted the allowed daily number of climbers initially to 150 people. Now only 100 people are allowed up the mountain per day.
2026: Can you climb Doi Luang Chiang Dao?
Can you climb Doi Luang Chiang Dao? The answer is yes but it is almost impossible to book the trip. The office of the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary organizes the trip that takes two days/one night. You can only book the climb to the summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao on the website of the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary. They allow a maximum of 100 people per day to ascend to the summit of the mountain, camp overnight and return the next day. It is our experience that it is impossible to book the climb to Doi Luang Chiang Dao.
The mountain is only open from November 1 until February 28/29 unless the management of the Wildlife Sanctuary decided otherwise. each year. The mountain is strictly closed to hikers the rest of the year due to weather and environmental conservation rules.
During the season you can see the facilities and the parking lot for the hikers next to the office of the Wildlife Sanctuary. Staff there told me in November 2025 that once the registration opens at the end of October, all places are usually sold out within 24 hours. Below are pictures I took at the place where climbers had booked before the trip.
Wat Tham Paak Piang
Wat Tham Paak Piang is an interesting temple complex not far for the Chiang Dao Cave Temple. It consists of several buildings and three “cave temples”. The complex has a beautiful location, hemmed in between limestone formations. It is an active Buddhist temple with monks. It might be an old cave temple but they have added many structures and images in the past couple of years.
There are three caves: the Yannawutho Cave, the Paak Piang Cave and the Naka Charoen Tham (Bia) Cave. Some of the Buddha images are . The images are not very old and the floor tilings are very new. The small Yannawutho Cave is the least interesting but the other two are worth a visit.
You have to turn on and off the lights yourself. During all of my visits I was the only visitor. If you have time it is worth visiting Wat Tham Paak Piang. There are some beautiful and interesting structures and it is very quiet. A reviewer complained about aggressive dogs but I didn’t meet any during my last visit in December 2025.
The Chiang Dao Hot Springs
The Chiang Dao Hot Springs consists of cement containers put in a scenic mountain stream. The hot water is transported from another location in PVC pipes. There are only a handful of these cement containers and there were people in each of them when I visited. There is a parking place and some basic food and beverage places next to the “hot springs”. The setting is beautiful with impressive rain trees and great mountain scenery. I prefer the Pong Arn Hot Spring in Pha Daeng National Park anytime though.
Wat Tham Pha Plong
This is a peaceful and beautiful small cave temple and meditation retreat, just a couple of km down the road from the Chiang Dao Cave Temple. A long flight of stairs takes you through lush vegetation to the cave and further up to a stupa, which offers nice views. A monk called Luang Poo Sim Phuthajaro founded this cave temple in 1967. He was a disciple of the great Phra Ajaan Mun Burridatta Mahathera, to whom a temple is dedicated at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai. If you have the time, Wat Tham Pha Phlong is well worth visiting. There are a couple of signs with the text “Beware of savage dogs” at the temple but I have never seen any dogs there.
The Tuesday Morning Market
Apart from the daily municipal fresh food market, there is a weekly market on Tuesday morning in town. It is a lively and attractive market. There are many different tribal villages of the Lisu, Dara-Ang (Palong), Hmong, Akha, Lahu, and Karen people in Chiang Dao district. Many tribal villagers come to town to sell their produce at this market so you might get a glimpse of their colorful traditional dress.
Trekking in the Sri Lanna National Park
The Sri Lanna National park is a vast, largely unexplored national park covering 1407 square km in the Mae Taeng, Chiang Dao, and Phrao districts of Chiang Mai province. There are several villages of Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Karen, and Dara-Ang (Palong) hill tribes east of the town. For many years this area has been very popular for hill tribe trekking. It still is an excellent area with fantastic scenery and fascinating villages. You need more than two days to explore the evergreen forests of this national park
The indigenous people of Chiang Dao
Chiang Dao is the most interesting destination in Northern Thailand if you are interested in the culture of indigenous people. East of the town of Chiang Dao, is an area with villages of five of the seven main ethnic minorities in North Thailand. Only the Yao (Mien) and the Hmong are not represented. To meet the Yao people you have to go to Chiang Rai or Nan province. On Doi Suthep and in the Mae Sa Valley there are Hmong communities but also elsewhere in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Nan provinces.
Indigenous people have been living in the Chiang Dao district for at least 100 years and probably much longer. Irish medical doctor and botanist Arthur Francis George Kerr took photos of indigenous people during an expedition to Doi Chiang Dao in 1922.
Tours to indigenous communities
In the vicinity of Chiang Dao you can visit Akha, Lisu, Lahu, Karen, and Palong (Dara-ang) indigenous communities. It offers excellent opportunities for people who are interested in, for instance, traditional dress. About 40km northeast of Chiang Dao there is a Kachin (Jingpo) community but visits will have to be arranged in advance. Many people in these villages don’t wear their traditional clothing anymore on a daily basis except during special occasions and festivals or on request. Our sister brand Green Trails specializes in indigenous textile and photography tours. Most of the communities in this area of the Chiang Dao district have some experience with tourism and are very welcoming. During these tours, we will facilitate taking photographs of local people in traditional dress.
The Lisu and Akha people of Baan Huay Ko
Baan Huay Ko is a community of the Lisu and Akha people, which is about 10km from the town of Chiang Dao. This christian community have been established since decades. Green Trails organizes visits during which you meet with the local people for a Q and A session. You can ask them questions about the daily life, their history and culture. They will also show their most beautiful traditional dress and allow you to take pictures. The Lisu community also offers a short and easy textile activity during which you will learn typical Lisu embroidery.
The White Karen of Ban Pha Lai
The White Karen people call themselves “Pakayor”. The small Karen village of Ban Pha Lai has a beautiful setting in limestone scenery and can be visited on a day tour from Chiang Mai. It is believed that the Karen people have been living in this part for centuries.
The Silver Palong of Chiang Dao
The Dara-ang people are known in Thailand as Palong people. They established the villages of Pang Daeng Nai and Mae Chon in the mid-1980s after they migrated from Northern Shan State in Myanmar. The people of Pang Daeng Nai and Mae Chon are Silver Palong, one of the Palong subgroups.
These villages has a turbulent history, like all the Palong villages in the Chiang Dao district (there are four villages).
Green Trails has worked with the Dara-ang communities in Chiang Dao district for many years.
The Palong village of Pang Daeng Nai
The village has a Royal Project office, a souvenir shop and organizes several workshops for visitors such as back strap weaving, natural dyeing and making a Palong “flag”. Below are pictures of students from the Netherlands making Dara-ang “flags”, that serve as decoration in the Buddhist temple.You will find these “flags” also in Shan (Tai Yai) temples and other temples in Northern Thailand.
Mae Chon, a silver Palong Village
Baan Mae Chon is less than five kilometers from Baan Pang Daeng Nai. The village offers a variety of workshops for visitors such as backstrap textile weaving, bamboo weaving and culinary workshops. Baan Mae Chon only was connected to the electricity grid in 2025. The village has several homestays as well as Christian church and Buddhist temple. Green Trails has operated trips to Baan Mae Chon for many years. These are usually trekking trips but the Palong villages in Chiang Dao district have also welcomed high school and university students, who are interested in indigenous culture and the way of life. Both Mae Chon and Pang Daeng Nai host textile tours.
The Kachin people of Baan Samakkee
The Kachin (Jingpo) form a unique cultural community that settled there from Myanmar/Kachin State due to conflict, establishing a distinct identity while maintaining traditions and contributing to local life and tourism, with organizations like KWAT advocating for Kachin women’s rights. They practice Christianity and Animism, and their presence highlights migration, cultural preservation, and evolving identities at the Thai-Myanmar border.
Green Trails can organize visits to this community to learn about their culture and traditions. Baan Samakkee is about 45km from the town of Chiang Dao. The community is very close to the sprawling Yunnan Chinese community of Ban Arunothai, which is a couple of kms from the Thai Myanmar border.
The magnificent Sri Sangwan Waterfall
These lovely falls are in the Pha Daeng National Park, about 32 km from Chiang Dao. They are too far from Chiang Mai to do on a day trip, in my opinion. If you stay overnight in Chiang Dao they are certainly worth visiting. The falls are just off the road to the Yunnan Chinese community of Arunothai and the mountain of Doi Angkhang.
The surface of the cascade is limestone, just like the Buatong waterfall aka the “sticky” waterfall. You can walk up and down the falls without a problem. Entrance fee for the falls is 100THB per person for foreigners.
The Buatong, aka the Sticky Waterfall
When I visited this waterfall 15 years ago, I was the only visitor. It was the Buatong waterfall (น้ำตกบัวตอง), no one had heard of the “sticky” waterfall. In the past five years, this waterfall has become very popular with local and international tourists. Social media played an essential role in this development. At a particular moment, someone invented the nickname “sticky waterfall,” and consequently, it started appearing in Trip Advisor and travel blogs under that compelling name.
The Buatong waterfall is a cascade on a limestone surface. It looks slippery, but it is the opposite. The limestone surface seems to “stick,” making it possible to walk up and down the cascades without losing your grip and fall. This aspect and the sparkling clear water in a lush, green environment are the attractions of the Sticky Waterfall. By the way: I included the waterfall on the “Things to do in Chiang Dao” page because it makes sense to combine the falls with a visit to Chiang Dao.
At the time of writing the sticky waterfalls had no entrance fee.
Kayaking on Mae Ngat Lake
This lake is in Sri Lanna National Park but the Mae Taeng district. People have known it as Mae Ngat Somboon Chon (แม่งัดสมบูรณ์ชล). The construction of the Mae Ngat Somboon Chon Dam in 1986 created this lake that has become an important recreation area for the people of Chiang Mai.
There are several floating accommodations on the lake that offer kayaking and other water-based activities. It is a friendly, natural, and peaceful environment with a great atmosphere.