Chiang Dao: A Guide to the Cave, the Mountain and the Valley

Chiang Dao Cave, Wat Tham Chiang Dao, is the main sight, about 10 minutes from town at the foot of the mountain. The mountain holds more than 100 caves running 10–12 km, and five sections are open to visitors. The first chambers are lit and lined with Buddha images and shrines, and a paved passage leads to a reclining Buddha. The dark sections are the best part, and you can only enter them with a local guide carrying a paraffin lantern, squeezing through narrow passages past rock formations the guides name for whatever they resemble.

Entry is ฿40 for foreigners, and the temple is open from 07:00 to 17:00. A lantern guide costs about ฿200 per group, so it's cheap if you share, and guides expect a tip. Allow about two hours for the whole complex, wear shoes with grip because it's slippery in places, leave a big bag at the entrance, and cover your shoulders and knees, or rent a scarf for ฿20. Some parts may close in the rainy season.

A short drive from the cave, Wat Tham Pha Plong is a working forest monastery on the cliffs above the valley. A staircase of 510 steps climbs through the jungle, past Buddhist sayings and rest huts, to a chedi with views over Chiang Dao, and it's usually quiet, with a few monks and the odd temple dog. Go in the morning, dress modestly and keep your voice down, since the monks live and meditate here.

The summit of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, about 2,175 m, is one of the great hikes in Thailand, through forest and up limestone ridges to views across the north. It's tightly controlled. The mountain opens to climbers only for a short season, roughly November to February, a registered local guide is compulsory, at about ฿1,000 per group, and the number of climbers each day is capped. Passes are booked through the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, and weekends in the season have sold out on the first day bookings opened. Check the year's dates and booking window with the sanctuary in October.

Outside the season, or without a pass, the lower trails through bamboo and pine forest are open, and the walk to Chiang Dao waterfall in the wildlife sanctuary is best from June to November.

Chiang Dao Hot Springs are natural, tiered pools of different temperatures beside a cool stream, in a forest setting, and free. Pong Arng Hot Springs, inside Pha Daeng National Park, are a little more remote, and the park ticket also covers the waterfall next door. On the way up from Chiang Mai, the Bua Tong Sticky Waterfall is worth a stop. Its limestone is rough enough that you can climb up the falls barefoot, and entry is ฿80.

November to February is the best time, with cool, clear days, misty mornings under the mountain and the only window for the summit trek. March and April bring heat and smoke from crop burning across the north, so check the air quality. From June to November the rice fields are green and the waterfalls full, but parts of the cave may close and the trails get muddy.

Chiang Dao is about 70 km north of Chiang Mai on Highway 107, the road to Tha Ton and Fang, and buses run all day. The cheap way is the orange fan-cooled bus from Chang Phueak terminal (Terminal 1), just north of the Old City, toward Tha Ton, about ฿46 and 90 minutes, or an air-conditioned bus for about ฿83. Buses and minivans also leave from the Arcade terminal. They stop on the main road in town, and from there a songthaew takes you to the bungalows by the cave.

By scooter it's an easy, scenic ride up Highway 107, and a car with a driver costs about ฿800–1,200 for half a day or about ฿2,000 for a full day, which lets you add the sticky waterfall on the way.

You can see the cave on a day trip from Chiang Mai, but Chiang Dao is better slowly. Spend one or two nights in a bungalow in the valley, many of them on the road between town and the cave, with views of the mountain, so you can do the cave and Pha Plong in the morning, soak in the hot springs in the afternoon and walk the rice fields as the mountain turns gold. Add more nights for the summit trek or birding in the sanctuary.