📍 Mae Hong Son is a mountainous province in northwestern Thailand, close to the Myanmar border. It is around 274 km from Chiang Mai.
⌛️ Best time to visit: November to February, during the dry and cooler season. This is also around the time of the beautiful lantern festival season.
🛵 I traveled this route by motorbike.
This is one of those road trips I think is worth doing at least once, especially around the lantern festival season. Starting and ending in Chiang Mai, these were the main stops on my route:
· Mae U Kho: rolling hills covered in bright yellow wild sunflowers 🌻
· Ban Rak Thai: a misty lakeside village that honestly feels a little like stepping into an old movie ⛩️
· Ban Jabo: a mountain village where you can wake up to a sea of clouds and watch the stars at night
· Pai: a peaceful little town with a very relaxed and lovely vibe
🛵6-day itinerary:
Day 1: Chiang Mai – Mae U Kho
I left Chiang Mai for Mae U Kho and arrived in time to watch sunset over the flower fields. In the evening, I had grilled chicken around the town center. The distance was around 222 km, so I recommend leaving early. I also suggest taking the route past Doi Inthanon National Park, because some of the shortcuts through the forest can be quite difficult to ride.
Day 2: Mae U Kho – Mae Hong Son – Ban Rak Thai
I woke up early to see the wild sunflower fields at Thung Bua Tong, then continued to Pha Bong Viewpoint, Mae Hong Son city, and finally Ban Rak Thai. Around 130 km in total.
Day 3: Ban Rak Thai
I gave myself a full day here to rest after two days on the road. Early in the morning, I took a small raft out onto the lake while the village was still covered in mist. After that, I just walked around, explored the area slowly, and had hotpot and grilled food by the lake.
Day 4: Ban Rak Thai – Ban Jabo
I started the morning around Lee Wine, where the little houses sit between the tea hills, then continued to Ban Jabo. I spent the rest of the day walking around the village, eating hotpot and grilled food, and watching the stars at night. Around 70 km.
Day 5: Ban Jabo – Pai
I woke up early for the sea of clouds from the noodle shop in Ban Jabo, then headed to Pai. In the afternoon, I watched sunset at Pai Canyon and later wandered around the night market. Around 55 km.
Day 6: Pai - Chiang Mai
I spent a slow morning exploring Pai. If you have time, you can also visit Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge and Coffee in Love. Then I rode back to Chiang Mai without rushing, stopping at Rak Chang Viewpoint along the way. Around 129 km.
⚠️ A few things to keep in mind:
· If you're riding a motorbike to Mae Hong Son, I personally wouldn't choose an automatic scooter for this route. Before accepting the bike, check the tires, brakes, indicators, lights, and horn carefully. Take photos or videos of the bike's condition, and also check the fuel level because you'll normally need to return it with the same amount of fuel.
· In Thailand, traffic drives on the left.
· The main highways are generally wide and much easier to ride. Smaller side roads can become rough, with gravel or dirt sections.
· If you want to see the wild sunflowers, I recommend staying overnight around Mae U Kho. You can look for accommodation on Trip.com.
· Bring a jacket. Mae Hong Son is cooler, especially after sunset.
Mae Hong Son showed me a side of Thailand I hadn’t really seen before. It felt completely different from the busy energy of Bangkok with its huge shopping malls, or the bright beaches and lively atmosphere of Krabi and Phuket. What stayed with me most was the quietness. Somehow, being there made everything in my head feel a little lighter.
At night, I would see small villages glowing on the mountainsides, half hidden in the mist. During the day, I kept riding along those long mountain roads, one after another, with no need to rush anywhere.
And maybe that was the part I loved most just riding, looking at the landscape, and feeling my mind slowly become free again.
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