Mae Sa Valley & Samoeng

Introducing Mae Sa Valley & Samoeng

This forested loop northwest of Chiang Mai via Mae Rim and/or Hang Dong makes a good day or overnight trip. Although dotted with tourist developments – resorts, orchid farms, butterfly parks, elephant camps, snake farms, botanic gardens, antique and handicraft shops – the Rte 1096/1269 loop through the Mae Sa Valley is very scenic in spots.

The two orchid farms you’ll see along this route are the Mae Rim Orchid Farm (0 5329 8801; entrance 40B; 7am-5pm) and Sai Namphung Orchid Nursery (0 5329 8771; entrance 40B; 7am-5pm). Both have butterfly enclosures. Mae Rim Orchid Farm is rather run down but sells pretty orchid leaf jewellery at good prices. Sai Namphung is better kept and has more beautiful orchid displays, but the focus here is more onselling the (overpriced) jewellery rather than giving information on orchids.

Mae Sa Waterfall (Nam Tok Mae Sa; entrance 200B) is only 6km from the Mae Rim turn-off from Rte 107, which in turn is 12km north of Chiang Mai. Further along the loop are several Hmong villages.

There are at least four places along the loop that call themselves elephant ‘camp’, ‘farm’ or ‘village’. Best of the bunch is the Maesa Elephant Camp (0 5320 6247; www.maesaelephantcamp.com; show adult/child 120/80B), near Mae Sa Waterfall, where the elephants seem to be treated well. One hour shows (8am and 9.40am daily, plus 1.30pm during high season) feature elephants playing musical instruments, painting pictures, kicking footballs and stacking logs. Fun for kids but for adults we found it uncomfortable to watch the elephants perform. Feed the elephants sugar cane and bananas afterwards, and visit the baby elephants in their nursery and training school. Elephant rides in the forest (for two people, 30 minutes/1hour 800/1200B) and mahout courses are also available.

Two kilometres past the elephant camp is the Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens (0 5384 1000; www.qsbg.org; admission 20B, car 100B (excluding individual admission); 8.30am-5pm). There are some lovely walks here, such as the Thai Plants and Medicinal Herbs Trail or the Climber Trail. It’s a nice place to have a picnic too. The glasshouses and gardens feature an impressive array of plants and flowers. Take the provided bus (30B) or your own car to get around the whole facility. Motorbikes are not allowed in the gardens.

Top-end resorts dot this route.

The drive to Samoeng – at the westernmost extension of the loop (35km from Mae Rim) – is a beautiful one. If you want to stay here before following the loop back down to Chiang Mai, Samoeng Resort (08 9955 6811; r 200-400B; ), about 2.5km outside Samoeng village itself, has 15 basic bungalows in a garden setting.

Last updated: Mar 24, 2009