Things to do in Chiang Mai: temples, markets and day trips

The best things to do in Chiang Mai start inside the old city walls, with Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang, then climb to the temple of Doi Suthep. Add a weekend market, a day with elephants or in a cooking school, and a trip to Doi Inthanon. Three days cover it. Entry prices are low and badly documented, so we give ranges, compared across sources on 14 November 2026.

Tours and activities to book in Chiang Mai

The five outings below are the ones travellers book most, with live prices and availability.

See more activities in Chiang Mai

What not to miss in Chiang Mai: prices and opening hours

We could not reach an official price list for the old city temples, and sources disagree by 10 to 30 THB. Carry small notes and expect the figure posted at the gate to differ a little.

Chiang Mai temples in the old city

The old city is a square of about 1.5 km on each side, inside a moat, and its temples are a short walk apart. Cover your shoulders and knees, take your shoes off before entering a hall, and do not point your feet at a Buddha image or a monk.

Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh stands at the western end of Ratchadamnoen Road. The grounds are free and the main halls, including the small Viharn Lai Kham with its murals, are reported at 20 to 50 THB for foreign visitors. Sarongs are lent at the entrance.

Wat Chedi Luang

The brick chedi of Wat Chedi Luang was begun in 1391 and finished in 1475, when it reached about 82 metres. An earthquake brought down the spire in 1545, and what stands today is about 60 metres high. The ticket is reported at 40 to 50 THB. Go before 5 pm. The temple also runs a monk chat, where visitors talk with monks who want to practise their English.

Smaller temples worth the walk

Wat Phan Tao, next to Wat Chedi Luang, is built of teak. Wat Chiang Man is the oldest in the city, with a chedi carried by stone elephants. South of the walls, Wat Sri Suphan is covered in silver, and women may not enter its ordination hall. Wat Umong, to the west, has tunnels under a forest. Many of these are free.

Two quieter stops add something other than temples. The Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre and the Lanna Folklife Centre, near the Three Kings Monument, charge about 90 THB each according to a long-stay resident's blog. Wat Suan Dok, in the Nimman area, offers a free one-day meditation retreat on Mondays and Fridays and a monk chat on weekday evenings, both arranged through monkchat.net. Check the days there first.

Doi Suthep: entry, dress code and how to get there

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep sits on the mountain west of the city, with a gold chedi and a view over the plain on a clear day. Guides report 30 THB for foreign visitors (one gives 50 THB), and hours of about 6 am to 8 pm. A staircase of 306 steps lined with nagas leads up from the car park, with a funicular beside it for a small fee.

Shared red songthaews leave from Chang Phueak Gate and from the university when they are full, for about 40 to 50 THB a person. Go early in the morning or near sunset, when the tour buses have left.

Walkers can take the Monk's Trail through the forest to Wat Pha Lat, a small temple beside a stream, then on to Doi Suthep in about 90 minutes, and ride a songthaew back down.

Chiang Mai night markets and the Sunday Walking Street

The Sunday Walking Street is the one to plan around. From about 4 pm to 11 pm, Ratchadamnoen Road closes to traffic for just over a kilometre, from Tha Phae Gate to Wat Phra Singh. Arrive between 4:30 and 5 pm, because the street is packed from 6 to 8 pm.

Bring cash. The best food is in the temple courtyards along the road, and alcohol is not sold on the street. At 6 pm the national anthem plays and everyone stands still for a minute and a half.

The Saturday Walking Street on Wualai Road, south of Chiang Mai Gate, runs from about 5 pm to 10 pm and is smaller. The Night Bazaar on Chang Klan Road opens every evening and sells mostly souvenirs. Two of the guides we read tell visitors to skip it for the weekend markets.

For a local crowd, the Jing Jai farmers' market sells food and handmade goods on Saturday and Sunday mornings, from about 6:30 am to 2 pm. The Chaloem Phrakiat park, opened in late 2024, hosts a free flower festival from November to early January, according to a resident's blog.

Elephant sanctuaries and cooking classes

Choose a sanctuary with no riding and no shows. Elephant Nature Park, about 60 km north of the city, is the best known: prices relayed from its pages in October 2026 are 2,500 THB for a half day and 3,500 THB for a full day, with hotel transfer and a meal. World Animal Protection has temporarily taken it off its elephant-friendly list because of a legal investigation it does not detail. Hands-off places near Chiang Mai, such as Burm and Emily's, let you watch the herd without feeding or bathing it, the strictest standard among ethical elephant sanctuaries in Thailand.

A cooking class is the other classic half day. Most start with a market visit, some on a farm outside town, and cost roughly 900 to 1,400 THB. A one-hour Thai massage runs about 300 to 450 THB around Nimman, the district of cafés and design shops west of the old city where many long-stay visitors live. Its rents and cafés make Chiang Mai one of the best places to live in Thailand for remote workers.

Day trips from Chiang Mai: Doi Inthanon, Chiang Rai and Pai

Doi Inthanon

Doi Inthanon is the highest point in Thailand at 2,565 metres, about 70 km south-west and one and a half to two hours by road. The park fee is 300 THB for foreign adults and 150 THB for children, reported by one 2026 guide. The summit is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the city, so bring a layer.

The stops are the two royal pagodas, the Wachirathan waterfall and the Kew Mae Pan trail, a 3 km loop open from November to May, where a local guide is compulsory for about 200 THB a group. There is no practical public transport. Tours cost 800 to 1,800 THB a person.

Chiang Rai and the White Temple

The White Temple, Wat Rong Khun, is about 180 km away, which makes a long day. Its ticket for foreign visitors doubled to 200 THB on 1 January 2026. Children under 120 cm and visitors aged 70 and over enter free. Most tours add the Blue Temple.

Pai

Minivans leave the Arcade bus terminal for Pai about every hour and take three to three and a half hours on a road of many bends. The fare is about 150 to 250 THB at the counter. A return in one day is possible and not much fun, so sleep there. Closer to town, the Bua Thong sticky waterfall is free and 90 minutes away.

How many days in Chiang Mai: a 3-day itinerary

Three days cover the essentials. The weekend markets decide the order, so move the days around to put the old city on a Sunday or a Saturday.

With a fourth and fifth day, add the excursion you left out and the day trip to Chiang Rai.

Chiang Mai burning season and the best time to visit

The best months are November to February: dry, with highs around 28°C. December and January are the busiest. April is the hottest month, at about 36°C, and the rains last from June to October.

From about January to April, farm and forest fires fill the valley with smoke, with a peak in March. On 4 March 2026 IQAir measured an air quality index above 150, a level it calls unhealthy, and listed Chiang Mai among the ten most polluted cities in the world that day. Local press reported the air back under control on 27 April.

Over the whole of 2024, IQAir puts the city's average fine-particle level at 26.4 micrograms per cubic metre, about five times the World Health Organization guideline. If you have asthma or travel with small children, avoid February to April, and check the IQAir app before booking mountain trips.

Yi Peng, Loy Krathong and Songkran in Chiang Mai

Yi Peng and Loy Krathong 2026 are reported for about 23 to 25 November, with the full moon on Tuesday 24 November. Other sources give 24 and 25 or up to the 26th, so check the Tourism Authority of Thailand programme. Lanterns light the old city on the first evening, krathongs float on the Ping River between Nawarat Bridge and the Iron Bridge on the second, and a parade of floats closes the festival.

The mass lantern releases in the photos are ticketed events outside the city. In town, releases are limited to set zones and hours, and the rules change from year to year. Choose a krathong made of banana trunk and leaves, never plastic or foam.

In 2027, Loy Krathong is expected on 14 November and Songkran on 13 to 15 April, with water fights around the moat that often start earlier and end later than the official dates. Flights and rooms cost more for both. On these dates, check how long your visa exemption lasts, because it dropped from 60 to 30 days in September 2026.

Getting around Chiang Mai: songthaews and Grab

The old city is walkable. Beyond it, flag down a red songthaew, a shared pick-up truck. Name a landmark, agree the price before you climb in, and expect about 30 THB for a short ride, more if you are alone. Grab is the most reliable app, and Bolt and Maxim are cheaper with fewer drivers. Tuk-tuks cost more than both.

The airport is 10 to 15 minutes from the old city, and guides give 150 to 200 THB by airport taxi. A scooter rents for about 200 THB a day. Police check licences, and a travel insurer can refuse a claim if you ride without a motorcycle licence.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai: train, plane or bus

Trains leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat station in Bangkok and often arrive 30 to 60 minutes late. Bookings open 90 days ahead since April 2026, as reported by the Thaiger, so tickets for the trip go on sale about three months before. Reserve two to four weeks before travelling between November and February, since the lower berths go first.

Most visitors pair the north with a few days of things to do in Bangkok at the start or the end of the trip, or with the beaches of Phuket. Both are Thailand destinations with direct flights to Chiang Mai.