Marvel Overland Holiday

Scenery-wise and in terms of sites it is right up there and remarkably Chiang Dao is said to be the only Thai district where all of the six main hill-tribe groups. (Akha, Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Yao), are represented, yet, perhaps luckily, the hordes have just failed to materialise.

Some locals point to the town’s layout which in contrast to cosy, compact Pai sees existing tourist facilities split between the town itself—laid out along the side of a long straight main street—and Ban Tham a few kilometres distant by the famous caves. The two are separated by a new 4-lane bypass while the scenic and virtually undeveloped Ping riverside lies beyond town to the east. If these disparate elements could be grouped into a compact and convenient little package then you would have more chance of a budding Pai 2 but geography obliges and for now, tourism in Chiang Dao advances at a slow pace.