A Slow Travel Guide to Chiang Dao: The Best of Northern Thailand
One Planet Journey’s Cecilia Taylor trades the well-worn tourist trail for a more authentic adventure in this slow travel guide to Chiang Dao in Northern Thailand. Cecilia provides everything you need, including accommodation, cosy local cafes, and excursions to unique natural wonders like sacred caves and hot springs.
Going Slow in Chiang Dao, Thailand
As every deep traveller knows, if you want to uncover the heart of a destination, sometimes you have to skip the big cities and customary itineraries in favour of something slower-paced. A place where the daily life of residents is at the centre, but also attractive to domestic tourists with the ultimate insider knowledge. Somewhere like Chiang Dao, Thailand.
Curiosity set in when I searched for destinations in the north of Thailand. I stumbled upon a gorgeous bamboo house property on a rental platform, located in a small, rural town north of Chiang Mai. After being on the road for two months, my friends and I wanted a respite from the “Banana Pancake Trail,” the casual nickname for the popular backpacking route running through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Here, English is ubiquitous, and linen tops and elephant trousers represent the standard uniform. The next logical stop on our path would have been Pai, a mainstay for adventurous visitors searching for unique experiences like canyon hikes and “Tipsy Tubing.”
But that’s the beauty of slow travel – your travels are wholly your own, and you can always choose the lesser-known path.
Accommodation and logistics off the beaten track in Chiang Dao
At the Chiang Mai bus terminal, we bought our tickets the same day and headed north towards Fang, an easy bus ride with a duration of 1:30 to 2 hours. From there, we arranged a pickup with our rental host. Despite our last-minute plans, we didn’t face any complicated logistics.
When visiting a town like Chiang Dao, you’ll need a scooter to move freely. Koko Home, a budget-friendly accommodation, is a superb choice for a hassle-free scooter rental, but guesthouses often offer their own. The town of Chiang Dao is perfect for slow travel, relatively small and walkable, but with hilly surroundings. Before arriving, call ahead to make sure they have enough scooters and consider bringing your own helmet from Chiang Mai, as many have seen better days.
The best time to visit Chiang Dao and the rest of the Northern Thailand region is during the months of November and December, when you can enjoy a lush green landscape without fear of the burning season. And if you’re into motorcycle tours, Chiang Dao is a perfect place to stretch your legs and get a taste of what this gorgeous region has to offer.
Exploring the Natural Wonders of Chiang Dao
Chiang Dao Hot Springs
One of the most unique things to do in Chiang Dao is to visit its free public hot springs, a series of bathing pools (which look like cauldrons), where tourists and locals alike go for a quick plunge in nature. Running alongside the different-temperature pools, a cool stream rushes by, giving you the opportunity to rinse the sulphur off your skin after a relaxing soak.
Chiang Dao Cave System
The best-known attraction in Chiang Dao is its cave system. It’s considered sacred by locals and surrounded by different folkloric tales about a lost prince and celestial spirits. The grounds around the cave also have beautiful Buddhist temples and colourful animal statues set against the backdrop of lush jungle.
Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary
Going camping in the Chiang Dao nature preserve is another classic slow travel activity in Chiang Dao. Whether you want a challenging trek to the peak of Doi Luang Chiang Dao, or a stress-free glamping experience with panoramic views, there is something for every nature-lover. You can even pitch a tent here and fall asleep under a wide, starry sky.
Eating in Chiang Dao
For restaurants, we very much enjoyed Jern’s, an eclectic roadside eatery with Western and fusion options, including creative burgers and wraps. For more adventurous Thai food with no English menu, I recommend The Cojon, a much-visited local hotspot with outdoor seating, string lights, and live music. Our server highlighted the cashew chicken for travellers with a slightly lower spice tolerance than the average Thai, and it didn’t disappoint.
Of course, you can find many local restaurants serving Thai staples such as Pad Kra Pao and spicy Green Curry, but where we found the region really shines is in its coffee culture. Another component that makes slow travel in Chiang Dao such a natural fit.
Utopian Cafés with Swoon-worthy Landscapes of Northern Thailand
While travelling throughout Chiang Dao and its surroundings, I had this indescribable feeling that this was the peak of cosy café culture. Futuristic decor with ambient music. Minimalist menus with maximalist drink options. Imagine your favourite trendy café. Instead of influencers lining up for the newest seasonal drink, a friendly barista asks if you are in town next weekend for a dinner party. This was the case at The North Café, which was a lovely rest stop on our way back into town, with idyllic views of the rice fields.
In the shadow of the Doi Luang Chiang Dao Mountain, Tata Chiang Dao Café, Restaurant, and Farm was also a standout. While on the pricier side for Thai standards, it created such an invitingly pleasant atmosphere that you could spend the whole day there chatting and gazing out at the mountain.
Beyond Chiang Dao: Easy Day-Trips Within the Chiang Mai Province
You should savour Chiang Dao’s local offerings, like a cup of locally brewed Thai coffee. But for a well-rounded exploration of the Chiang Mai region, the town can easily serve as a home base for other excursions.
Elephant Sanctuaries
Thailand is the land of elephants, naming everything from beer brands to entire islands after this magnificent animal. To satisfy our lifelong wish to see them up close, we drove to an elephant sanctuary an hour away, a sprawling property housing a handful of elephants rescued from the logging industry and the sadly still-prevalent roadside shows. As always, it’s worth researching whether a sanctuary walks the talk. Look for no riding, no bathing, and clear rescue work. At the end of the visit, the guests feasted on a lovely bowl of winter melon soup, customising it with herbs, sugar, and spices.
Bua Tong Waterfalls (Sticky Waterfall)
When Instagram recommended this attraction, a part of me wondered whether it would be no more than a gimmick. It’s true; Bua Tong Waterfalls are some of the only falls in the world where it is safe to walk up the entire length of the waterfall, due to the grippy limestone properties of the rock. The national park draws quite a few tourists, but even on a warm, sunny day, we never had any issues with crowds.
You start the experience walking down several stairs through the jungle until you reach the base of the lowest fall. From there, you wade through shallow water and start your climb, as your body adjusts to the uncanny feeling of easily climbing surfaces that, at every other waterfall in the world, would be far too slippery. On particularly steep stretches, there are ropes and railings you can hold on to, but the route requires only a basic level of fitness.
Genuine local connections through slow travel in Chiang Dao
The appeal of choosing to visit a lesser-known slow travel destination like Chiang Dao is that you can have all the conveniences of a major tourism hub like Chiang Mai, right at your fingertips. At the same time, you enjoy a more laid-back town that doesn’t cater to tourists’ every whim. It opens the door to more authentic connections with locals, who are there to learn and relax as much as you are. If you are part of the growing community of travellers conscientious about the effects of jet-setting, you can do your part by easing the burden of overtourism in widely visited destinations. Of course, it’s still possible to see the famous sights that drew you into Thailand in the first place, but with the added satisfaction of finding some off-the-beaten-path gems of your own.
Have you slow-travelled through Thailand? What places do you recommend? Let us know in the comments. Subscribe to our newsletter and benefit from travel guides, sustainable tourism and luxury travel tips, insightful interviews, and inspirational places to visit. One Planet Journey – The World’s First Deep Travel Magazine.
