Chiang Dao lies in Northern Thailand, situated between Chiang Mai and the border of Myanmar. If you are looking for a quiet, picturesque Thai village surrounded by stunning nature, caves and temples, then Chiang Dao is well worth a visit. You can come here to relax, yet you’ll soon end up wanting to explore!

The village itself is overlooked by a magnificent mountain named Doi Luang. Chiang Dao literally means ’City of Stars’, alluding to this beautiful landmark which juts up from the ground to over 2100 metres, making it the third highest peak in Thailand.

We were originally eager to climb Doi Luang as apparently views are spectacular, but to our disappointment the mountain had just ‘closed’. Due to the rains and the fires started by hill tribes, you can only climb the mountain from November - February.

Instead of hiking up the mountain, we decided to rent a Honda Click (300 Thai Baht a day) and explore Chiang Dao. The mountain views, quiet village and beautiful temples seemed enticing enough to stay for a week, and we were glad that we did!

Things to see and do in Chiang Dao

Tunnelling Through Caves

Chiang Dao is famous for its caves. They consist of more than 12km of underground passages and caverns, however only 1km is open to tourists. We chose to get a guide to take us through the unlit parts of the cave. She had us crawling through tiny dark holes in corners of giant caverns. I’m glad she knew the terrain like the back of her hand, as you could easily become lost in this huge underground complex!

You’ll see stalactites and stalagmites, cave spiders and of course Buddhas and holy shrines. These caves have been known about for at least 1000 years, so some of the shrines are very old.

Visit temples

At the site of the Chiang Dao caves lie some beautiful, typical Thai style temples and stupas. It is such a peaceful site with very few tourists (perhaps because it was low season), however you can spend time here enjoying the serene temples, flower gardens and Koi pond. There’s even a natural medicine market on site selling things such as root vegetables and herbs.

The temples look so beautiful against a backdrop of Doi Luang.

Some of the stupas here are thought to be very ancient - up to 2000 years old.

The most beautiful and peaceful temple that we found in Chiang Dao, not far from the caves, is Wat Tham Pha Plong. We ended up visiting more than once. It truly is a Buddhist paradise! Set up on a mountain, you must first walk 500 steps up through the jungle to get there.

On your journey you will be accompanied every few metres by wisdom from the Dharma.

The Buddhist religion is so profound for all of its wisdom. It encourages beneficial practices such as meditation, self discipline, self reflection and separation from the ego. Listening to your ‘inner self’ and abandoning greed is a beautiful way to improve anyones life, and that’s exactly what Buddhism teaches.

In Thailand every man must be a monk at some point in his life, whether it be for a week or many years.

On our way up to the temple there are only sounds of the jungle and some monks sweeping the leaves from the steps. We found them diligently doing this every evening.

When you reach the top, you find that the temple itself is built into a natural cave. It is a place for monks to study and meditate. There is a museum dedicated to a revered monk who once lived in this cave. It’s an impressive place.

The atmosphere up at the temple is one of serenity. The music of jungle insects and birds mix with tinkling wind chimes as monks quietly go about their daily business. If you come in the evening you may even hear the monks chanting.

Then, once you climb the last set of stairs you will reach the golden stupa. Looking out from here, all you can see is jungle!



Stupas are sacred buildings which house relics, and are seen as a spiritual haven or place to refresh the spirit and heal. You should walk around the stupa in a clockwise direction three times, wishing well for loved ones or the whole world. You can also sit in front of the stupa and generate good thoughts and compassion for all beings.

An added benefit to this temples existence is that monks are successfully keeping poachers and wildfires at bay - a widespread problem across Asia at present. The holy site as well as the monks constant presence makes hunting unpopular here, so (hopefully) more wildlife can thrive in these forests. The monks also prevent and control wildfires.

Soak in Hot Springs

Another part of the allure of Chiang Dao is all of the naturally occurring hot springs here. After hiking and sightseeing all day, where better to go and relax that some hot baths.

Did you know that bathing in hot springs can naturally help to heal pain, skin conditions and boost your blood circulation?

We visited both the free hot springs and a site with a small entrance fee, but actually preferred the location and set up of the free place.

When you first arrive the set up looks a bit strange, but essentially they’ve made it into a complex of hot tubs. Each tub has a different temperature so you can choose the one that suits you. Once you get too hot, you can bathe in the cold stream running alongside the springs to cool off. This is heavenly! Expect to share your bath with the odd cow here.

At some hot springs it’s popular to buy raw eggs from vendors in a basket contraption so that you can boil your own eggs for lunch!

Explore National Parks

Chiang Dao itself is part of Chiang Dao National Park. There is also a wildlife reserve which encompasses the mountain. If you are visiting in the winter months then you should most definitely climb the mountain to explore the wildlife, flora and fauna that’s completely unique to this area.

We visited nearby Pha Daeng National Park, which was a long but enjoyable scooter ride away. Sometimes the scooter ride, passing through beautiful landscapes and little villages, is the best bit!

At Pha Daeng you will find bamboo forests, waterfalls, hot springs and mountain streams. The park actually crosses the border into Myanmar, and you will also find local hill tribes living around here.

This waterfall is called Sri Sang Wan and was fun to climb up and slide down - just as some local monk boys were doing!

Actually we had a lot of fun at Pha Daeng, as from the moment we arrived we were guided around by our self appointed tour guides, two very friendly dogs.

These dogs decided to go walkies with us through the jungle. In fact, they showed us the way!

This dog had a well deserving bite of a PB&J sandwich and a nap after her long walk!

Join in with local life

Max and I were very lucky in that we were staying in Chiang Dao at the time of a local festival. We never found out the name of it, but from what we gathered it was a celebration for children who were about to become monks. The area around the local temple became lively with decorations, food stalls, games, processions and dancing in the evenings.

We got plenty of stares here being the only falangs at their festival! However it was fun to join in festivities and we met some lovely local people. Apparently many people there were Burmese, having originally fled from Myanmar.

Later in the evening they played drumming music whilst three men danced around in a dragon costume, the crowd around them cheering. People would take turns in the costume. It was a really great atmosphere.

This man had incredible dance moves!

Despite our best efforts we didn’t manage to win this game.. eventually they felt sorry for us falangs and gave us a prize anyway!

Another way to experience local life was to visit the giant Tuesday morning market. For a small place it really was a large market, it seems that people come from far and wide every week to visit, including the local tribes.

You could find pretty much anything you need, from fruit and vegetables to t-shirts to power tools!

Where we stayed

Max and I stayed at Dreamhome guesthouse, a beautiful property with a small lake, mountain views and lush flowers and fruit trees. Every morning they cook you breakfast and you can soak up the beautiful views. All for around $14 a night! The guesthouse owners were a lady named Oi and her son who gives tours up the mountain in winter months. Oi was so lovely to us, she looked after us when we got ill (bringing food and water to our door), she drove us to the bus station and even made us a hot lunch for the journey and gave us small leaving gifts! It felt like a home away from home.

One thing to note in Chiang Dao is that having transportation (a car or scooter preferably over a bicycle) is most definitely recommended here. Songthaews have a price fixing scheme and are very expensive (at least 150THB per trip), and not much is walkable by foot. We hired a scooter from Oi and her son!

P.S This is our first post on Steemit, we'd be very grateful for a few upvotes if you liked our content! :)