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The Mekong and Ruak rivers meeting at the Golden Triangle, seen from the hill at Sop Ruak
The Mekong at the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet
Terraced flower beds and sculptures in the Mae Fah Luang Garden at Doi Tung
Rows of tea bushes curving over the hills of the Choui Fong plantation
The dark teak main hall of Baan Dam, the Black House, in Chiang Rai

Things to do in Chiang Rai: 11 experiences

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Photo: Douglas Perkins, CC BY 4.0

Sop Ruak, Chiang Saen

Read the Golden Triangle's history at the Hall of Opium

Check dates and prices

Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0

Doi Tung, Chiang Rai

Walk the Mae Fah Luang Garden at the Doi Tung Royal Villa

Check dates and prices

Photo: Elgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0

Mae Chan, Chiang Rai

Walk the tea terraces of Choui Fong and taste its oolong

Photo: Pixabay user Denchai, CC0

Nang Lae, Chiang Rai

Walk among the black houses of Thawan Duchanee's Baan Dam

Tours in Chiang Rai

Photo: Szwendam się, CC BY-SA 4.0

Chiang Rai, capital of Thailand's northernmost province, is a smaller and quieter base than Chiang Mai, best known for the modern temples on its outskirts: the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the giant Guan Yin of Wat Huay Pla Kang. In the old town, Wat Phra Kaew marks where the Emerald Buddha was found.

The province beyond is the old opium country of the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet on the Mekong. Its hills tell how that changed: the Hall of Opium at Sop Ruak, the royal project gardens of Doi Tung, and Mae Salong, a tea town founded by Chinese Nationalist soldiers.

11 things to do in Chiang Rai

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The Mekong at the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet

Read the Golden Triangle's history at the Hall of Opium

Sop Ruak, Chiang Saen

Half a day, with 2 hours in the museumGo alone or with a tour

Where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet on the Mekong, a sober museum tells the story from poppy field to heroin trade.

Check dates and pricesGolden Triangle, opium museum and skywalk
Been there?
Terraced flower beds and sculptures in the Mae Fah Luang Garden at Doi Tung

Walk the Mae Fah Luang Garden at the Doi Tung Royal Villa

Doi Tung, Chiang Rai

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

The Princess Mother's mountain villa, built for a project that swapped opium for coffee, with terraced gardens in the cool air.

Check dates and pricesGuided day to Doi Mae Salong and Doi Tung
Been there?
The white hall and the nine-tiered chedi of Wat Huay Pla Kang

Ride up inside the giant Guan Yin of Wat Huay Pla Kang

Rim Kok, Chiang Rai

1 to 2 hoursFree

A white statue of the goddess of mercy, about 69 metres tall, overlooks Chiang Rai, with a lift to a viewing deck inside.

Been there?
The dark teak main hall of Baan Dam, the Black House, in Chiang Rai

Walk among the black houses of Thawan Duchanee's Baan Dam

Nang Lae, Chiang Rai

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

An artist's estate of nearly 40 dark houses filled with bones, horns, skins and carvings, the dark counterpart to the White Temple.

Tours in Chiang Rai
Been there?
The Lanna-style hall and garden at the entrance of Wat Phra Kaew in Chiang Rai

See where the Emerald Buddha was found at Wat Phra Kaew

Old town, Chiang Rai

About an hourFree

In 1434 lightning split a chedi in Chiang Rai and revealed a jade Buddha that is now Thailand's most sacred image.

Been there?
A bowl of Yunnan noodles served for breakfast in Mae Salong

Drink oolong and eat Yunnanese food in Mae Salong

Doi Mae Salong, Chiang Rai

A full day, better with a nightFree

A mountain town founded by Chinese Nationalist soldiers, who swapped opium for oolong tea and still cook the food of Yunnan.

Tours in Chiang Rai
Been there?
Rows of tea bushes curving over the hills of the Choui Fong plantation

Walk the tea terraces of Choui Fong and taste its oolong

Mae Chan, Chiang Rai

1 to 2 hoursFree

Free-to-walk tea terraces above Ban Thoet Thai, with a hilltop café looking over rows of bushes that follow the ridgeline.

Been there?
The golden Singha lion statue at Singha Park near Chiang Rai

Cycle the tea rows and flower fields of Singha Park

Near the White Temple, Chiang Rai

Half a dayFree

A brewery's farm estate near the White Temple, free to enter, with tea terraces, cool-season flower fields and a zipline.

Been there?
The white, mirror-trimmed ordination hall of Wat Rong Khun near Chiang Rai

Cross into Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, at opening

Chiang Rai

1 to 1.5 hoursNo booking needed

Cross the bridge over the pit of reaching hands into the all-white temple at opening, before the coaches turn it into a queue.

Tours in Chiang Rai
Been there?
The blue and gold hall of Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple of Chiang Rai

See the Blue Temple, Wat Rong Suea Ten

Chiang Rai

45 minutesFree

Step into a deep blue hall with gilded trim, where a large white seated Buddha fills the back.

Tours in Chiang Rai
Been there?
Tables and stalls in the food court of the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar

Eat at the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar or the Saturday Walking Street

Chiang Rai

2 hoursFree

Look for sai ua sausage and jackfruit curry at the stalls Thai families pick, or join the locals on Chiang Rai's Saturday Walking Street.

Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Chiang Rai yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Chiang Rai has its own airport with flights from Bangkok. Greenbus coaches run from Chiang Mai's Arcade bus station in about three hours and stop at both of Chiang Rai's bus terminals; the new terminal is 7 km south of the city.

  • Getting around

    Local buses from the old bus station in town reach the White Temple and Baan Dam. For the Golden Triangle, Doi Tung, Mae Salong and the tea estates, the distances make a day tour or a hired driver the practical choice.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, three days works: one for the temples around the city and Baan Dam, one for the Golden Triangle and Doi Tung, and one for Mae Salong and Choui Fong, ideally with a night up in Mae Salong.

  • When to go

    November to February is cool and clear, with blossom in Mae Salong from December. From March, haze from agricultural burning covers the north. The rains run from about June to October.

  • Where to base yourself

    The town centre for the night bazaar, the walking street and buses to the temples. A night in Mae Salong for the mountains, the tea and the cool morning air.

Questions travellers ask

Can I see Chiang Rai on a day trip from Chiang Mai?

Only partly. The bus takes about three hours each way, so a day trip covers the White Temple and one or two other stops. Two or three nights in Chiang Rai let you reach the Golden Triangle, Doi Tung and Mae Salong.

Hall of Opium or House of Opium?

The Hall of Opium, run by the Mae Fah Luang Foundation on the hill at Sop Ruak, is the large museum and the one worth two hours. The House of Opium in the village is a much smaller private collection.

When is the best time for Mae Salong?

December to February, when plum and cherry blossom cover the hills and the mornings are cold and misty. Sunflowers bloom in November; from March the haze sets in.

More places in this region

Things to do in Thailand

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