On Foot Through Chiang Mai Province
Chiang Mai Province offers three kinds of walk with almost nothing in common except that none needs a vehicle once you reach the start: a flat moated temple loop, a forest trail to a hidden hermitage, and a pair of high-altitude trails that require a car ride just to reach the trailhead.
The Old City moat loop
Inside the moat, Tha Phae Gate makes the natural starting point for a 3.5 km, 2.5 to 3 hour loop. Walking west on Ratchadamnoen Road reaches Wat Phan Tao, an unlacquered teakwood monastery built from 19th-century royal palace timbers, then Wat Chedi Luang next door, whose ruined 15th-century brick stupa was damaged in a 1545 earthquake and once held the Emerald Buddha (50 THB foreign entry). Further west, Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan houses the revered Phra Phuttha Sihing Buddha inside its gilded Lai Kham chapel, also 50 THB. The loop finishes near the Three Kings Monument and Sompet Market.
The forest walk to Wat Pha Lat
Behind Chiang Mai University, at the end of Suthep Road, the Monk’s Trail climbs gently through evergreen forest marked by saffron robes tied around tree trunks, crossing small wooden footbridges over mountain streams. About 1.5 to 2 hours and 3 km round trip brings you to Wat Pha Lat, a 14th-century jungle hermitage with moss-covered stupas and open-sided meditation halls beside a waterfall. Since October 2025, a 100 THB foreign adult checkpoint fee (50 THB child) applies at the trailhead (fee notice from the Department of National Parks ), ending the trail’s long run as a free walk.
Doi Inthanon’s high trails
Two trails on Thailand’s highest mountain need a car to reach: Kew Mae Pan, at Kilometer 42, is a 2.8 km ridge loop through cloud forest and alpine meadow, open only November 1 to May 31 with a mandatory Hmong guide (200 THB per group). Pha Dok Siew, at Kilometer 31, is a gentler two-hour downhill walk with a Karen guide (also 200 THB per group), passing a waterfall and coffee terraces into Mae Klang Luang village. Book Doi Inthanon trail transport on GetYourGuide if you have no car of your own.
The verdict
Walk the moat loop on your first morning in the city and save the Monk’s Trail and Doi Inthanon for days with a car or driver arranged; none of the three overlaps enough to combine in a single outing. For the sights these routes pass, see the sightseeing guide .
Before you go
Both temple stops on the moat loop require covered shoulders and knees; carry a scarf even on a hot morning, since sarongs for rent are not guaranteed at every entrance.