Thailand, Chiang Mai Resorts

Chiang Mai is a beautiful city with a long history and very old traditions. Chiang Mai is famous for its beauty, culture, natural sceneries and the gentle nature of its people. Chiang Mai is considered the cultural center of the North and it is the second largest city in the country, next to Bangkok.

CHIANG MAI is Thailand's second city, famous for it easy-going ambience and an old quarter that's retained many of its traditional wooden houses and quiet, leafy gardens. Elegant temples are the primary tourist sights, but these are no pre-packaged museum pieces – they're living community centres, where you're quite likely to be approached by monks keen to practise their English. Inviting craft shops, good-value accommodation, rich cuisine and a tempting number of courses, in everything from Thai cookery to traditional massage, further enhance the city's allure, making Chiang Mai a place that detains many travellers longer than they expected. Several festivals attract throngs of visitors here too: Chiang Mai is considered one of the best places in Thailand to see in the Thai New Year – Songkhran – in mid-April, and to celebrate Loy Krathong at the full moon in November, when thousands of candles are floated down the Ping River in lotus-leaf boats. The most famous and fascinating temples in the city – Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Chiang Man – are clustered conveniently close to each other in the old town, though the main local place of pilgrimage, for Buddhists and tourists alike, is Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which glitters in the sun from its perch some 1300 metres up the neighbouring mountain. The city is also well-endowed with museums: the Arts and Cultural Centre in the old town for high-quality displays on Chiang Mai and Lanna culture, the National Museum to the north for the best of the region's historical artefacts, and, further north again, the Tribal Museum for a useful introduction to the hill-tribes of northern Thailand. Beyond the city limits, a number of other day-trips can be made, such as to the ancient temples of Lamphun or to the orchid farms and elephant shows of the Mae Sa valley – and, of course, Chiang Mai is the main centre for hill-tribe trekking.