Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai: Golden Triangle & Doi Suthep (5D4N)

Itinerary

ARRIVAL IN CHIANG RAI - TEMPLES, ART & LANNA HERITAGE

Arrive at Chiang Rai Airport, meet your local English-speaking guide, and transfer to your hotel for check-in. Free time at leisure.

Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten), designed by a local Chiang Rai artist, its striking blue main building reflecting a new philosophy of Buddhist art.

Then visit Black House (Baan Dam Museum), the home of a celebrated national artist known for eerie sculptures crafted from horns, bones, reptile skins, and traditional woodcraft, spread across 32 Lanna-style pavilions.

Visit Wat Huay Pla Kang, home to the tallest statue of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, standing 79 metres tall, and the Nine-Story Pagoda. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE - BORDERLANDS, LOCAL CULTURE & CHIANG SAEN

08.30 Hrs. Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Long Neck Karen Village, home to women who wear brass rings around their necks, a tradition originating from Shan State in Myanmar.

Continue to Mae Sai Town, the Thailand–Myanmar border and the northernmost point of Thailand, with local markets selling Myanmar goods.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Visit the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet, marked by a golden Buddha statue and panoramic Mekong River views. Continue to the Opium Museum, displaying the history of the region’s opium trade.

Conclude at Chiang Saen Town, an ancient city dating to around 1328, with ruins of temples, stupas, and the old city wall and moat. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

JOURNEY TO CHIANG MAI - WHITE TEMPLE & OLD CITY HERITAGE

08.30 Hrs. Check out from your hotel and depart to White Temple (Wat Rong Khun), designed by a celebrated national artist, its distinctive white main building decorated with fragments of reflective glass.

Depart for Chiang Mai (3 hours’ drive) by road along picturesque scenic routes through several beautiful northern mountains. On the way, visit the local Hot Spring at Mae Ka Chan Town, watching locals boil quail’s eggs.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Arrive in Chiang Mai and visit Wat Chedi Luang, built in the late 14th century and once home to the Emerald Buddha, Thailand’s most sacred religious relic.

Continue to Wat Phra Singh (1345), renowned for its stunning Lanna-style viharn and fine scripture repository. Afterwards, transfer to your hotel for check-in and leisure time.

ELEPHANT CARE & DOI SUTHEP - CHIANG MAI HIGHLIGHTS

09.00 Hrs. Pick up from your hotel lobby and depart to Elephant Care Center for a memorable elephant care experience. Upon arrival, visit the Elephant Culture Museum and learn about the important role of elephants in Thai society, their lifestyle and ongoing conservation efforts.

Continue with a hands-on activity by feeding the elephants bananas and sugar cane. Enjoy close interaction while observing their gentle nature and natural behaviour. Next, take part in the elephant poo paper production process and discover how recycled elephant dung is transformed into eco-friendly paper products. Afterwards, learn about traditional herbal treatments for elephants and make your own herb and fruit nutritional vitamin balls, a healthy snack the elephants love.

Conclude the experience by watching the elephants bathe under the waterfall. You may choose to simply observe or help wash the elephants for a fun and refreshing activity.

Lunch is provided at a local restaurant.

Depart for Doi Suthep Temple, one of Northern Thailand’s most sacred temples, perched 1,050 metres above sea level with panoramic views over Chiang Mai. Ascend the 306-step Naga staircase, or take the tram to the summit. Afterwards, return to your hotel.

FAREWELL TO CHIANG MAI

Check out from your hotel and depart to Chiang Mai Airport for your flight to the next destination.