Chiang Mai

Rose of the North

Chiang Mai is a great old city to explore. We head up to the hilltop temple of Doi Suthep and out to the forest to ride elephants. Evenings are best spent in the colorful night bazaar and we have a full free day for city discovery, cooking school, bamboo rafting , traditional massage or relaxing by the river. - Intrepid Travel itinerary

Chiang Mai is known as the “Rose of the North,” and the area is famous for its natural beauty. The city is surrounded by high mountain ranges, jungles, and national parks teeming with wildlife. Chiang Mai was founded by King Mengrai the Great as the capital of the Lanna Thai kingdom in 1296. Today Chiang Mai is the economic, cultural and tourism center of Northern Thailand.

A cultural haven

Chiang Mai is considered by many to be the cultural center of Thailand. It lies along an ancient trade route, and historically served as a trading post for handcrafted goods, jewelry, wood carvings, umbrellas, and more. While it has become increasingly modern and more technological as of late, it lags well behind Bangkok's stature as a metropolis. If you ask us, this is a good thing. The quality of life in a metropolis begins to turn down when Western influences take too firm a grip, pushing out nature. Chiang Mai, unlike Bangkok, is surrounded by mountains. Not far from the city are day trekking trips that take you into the mountains, into the villages of the Hill Tribes - refugees from Southern China.

The history of Chiang Mai

The city of Chiang Mai, Thailand was founded in 1926 by King Mengrai. At the time, it was the capital of the Lanna kingdom, a fortress that protected itself from Burmese raids. But eventually it would be taken over by the feuding between Burmese and Thais from Ayutthaya (the old capital), which fell to the Burmese in 1767. By this time so few Thais remained in Chiang Mai that the city was practically abandoned between 1776 and 1791. In 1774, King Taksin recaptured the city from the Burmese, and proceeded to nurture it for years of cultural and economic growth.

The Northern Thai distinguish themselves with their own Thai dialect - Lanna, which differs from the dialects spoken in Bangkok and the South.