Pai

On the site we describe it as "a hipster town in the mountains: artsy cafés, hot springs and rice-terrace views", and that is an accurate summary of why people stay there longer than they planned.

How to get there and why it matters

Pai is almost always a continuation of Chiang Mai, not a destination you reach directly from Israel. The road to it is mountainous and winding, and anyone sensitive to that kind of drive should know about it in advance.

Our routes in the area are built as three days that start and end in Chiang Mai: this is the format that suits most travellers and does not require unpacking the suitcase twice.

What to see in and around Pai

The area itself is the attraction. Among what appears in our routes in the area: Pai Canyon, the hot springs, the White Buddha overlooking the valley, Lod Cave and the bamboo bridge that crosses rice fields.

Add to all this the tribal villages along the way and the viewpoints over the valley: Pai is a destination you see from the road at least as much as from the sights themselves.

Who Pai suits

For anyone who wants to break up a route of beaches and city with a few entirely different days: mountains, cooler air and days that move slowly.

Less suitable for anyone who has only a week in Thailand and wants both Bangkok and the sea: in that case the whole north gets squeezed, and it is better to skip it in an orderly way than to rush through it.

What to pack

The northern mountains are cooler than the south, especially in the morning and the evening. One warm layer in your bag is the difference between a sunrise viewpoint and giving it up.

Closed shoes are better than flip-flops for anything that involves a cave, a waterfall or rice fields: the paths there are not always paved, and sometimes they are not dry either.

The road itself is part of the trip

The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is hundreds of bends in the mountains. Anyone who suffers from travel sickness feels it, and it is worth preparing for that in advance rather than finding out halfway.

On the way there are viewpoint stops and small villages, so many people choose to take it slowly and not treat it as a transfer between two points.

Want us to put it together for you?

Tell us when you plan to fly, with whom, and how much time you have, and we will come back with an itinerary, hotels and attractions that fit exactly that — in Hebrew.