Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second-largest city in Thailand by urban population. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands, and has a population of approximately 127,000 within the city municipality and an urban population of about 1.2 million as of 2023.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
3cool-dry
mild, dry, cooler than Bangkok (highland-modified at ~300 m); mean 18.6-21.5 °C; December mean min 13.6 °C; precip 0.3-1.5 mm/day; the peak tourist season
- Loi Krathong / Yi Peng (November, 3 full days) — the city's defining civic ritual; thousands of sky lanterns (khom fai) launched; krathongs floated on the Ping River
- Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep (the golden temple on the mountain above the city, 15 km from centre) at peak visitor flow
- the old-city moat-and-walls (1296, Lanna kingdom) and the Tha Phae Gate at full visitor flow
- the Sunday Walking Street and the Saturday Night Street Market at peak
hot-burning
hot, dry; the agricultural burning season — haze and PM2.5 spike from slash-and-burn farming in the surrounding hills; mean 24.7-27.0 °C; April mean max 34.3 °C; record 42.5 °C (May 2016); precip 0.7-5.8 mm/day (rising)
- the burning-season haze (Feb-Apr, peaks March) — PM2.5 levels regularly exceed WHO guidelines by 10x+; a defining civic-health episode
- Songkran (13-15 April) — the Thai New Year water-throwing festival; a citywide water-fight centred on the moat
- Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep pilgrimage at its peak (the Buddhist New Year cycle)
- the coffee-harvest season ends; the coffee tourism economy at its post-harvest best
rainy
warm, wet (SW monsoon); mean 22.5-24.9 °C; precip 4.0-7.5 mm/day; August-September wettest at 7.4-7.5 mm/day; the Ping River rises; flash-flooding risk in low-lying areas
- the green-foliage identity of the 'Rose of the North' is most legible
- the Inthakhin Festival (May-June, variable) — the Lanna pillar-raising ritual at Wat Chedi Luang
- the coffee growing-cycle continues; the surrounding hills at their greenest
- the rainy season is the low tourist season; lower prices and thinner crowds
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Loi Krathong and Yi Peng
- the city's defining civic ritual
- thousands of sky lanterns (khom fai) launched simultaneously
- krathongs floated on the Ping River
Songkran
- Thai New Year water-throwing festival
- the old-city moat is the centre of the water-fight
Inthakhin Festival
- the Lanna pillar-raising ritual at Wat Chedi Luang — an indigenous Lanna civic ritual
Burning Season
- agricultural slash-and-burn haze
- PM2.5 levels 10x+ WHO guidelines
- the city's defining air-quality-health episode
On the record
source-trackedChiang Mai is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second-largest city in Thailand by urban population. It is 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok in a mountainous region called the Thai highlands.
The heart of the city is commonly defined by a square area about 1.6 km × 1.6 km. It is bordered by ancient red brick walls (now only remnants) and has a moat surrounding it.
Chiang Mai (meaning "new city" in Thai) was founded in 1296 as the new capital of Lan Na, succeeding the former capital, Chiang Rai.
Chiang Mai has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), tempered by the low latitude and moderate elevation, with warm to hot weather year-round.
The maximum temperature ever recorded was 42.5 °C (108.5 °F) in May 2016.
Every year thousands of people assemble floating banana-leaf containers (krathong) decorated with flowers and candles and deposit them on the waterways of the city in worship of the Goddess of Water.
Lanna-style sky lanterns (khom fai or kom loi), which are hot-air balloons made of paper, are launched into the air.
In the small town of Mae Jo, north of Chiang Mai, they start the [Loi Krathong] festival on Saturday night by simultaneously launching thousands upon thousands of hot air balloons.
Naturally it's a good place to sample northern Thai food: in particular, hunt down some khao soi, yellow wheat noodles in curry broth, traditionally served with chicken (kai) or beef (nuea).
Another local specialty is hang ley, Lanna-style pork curry. The area is also a home to a type of pork sausage called sai ua, which is favoured using chilli and various Thai herbs such as lemongrass, galangal and Kaffir lime.
Chiang Mai is one of the top destinations for coffee tourism in Asia, and attracts visitors from many countries.
Bars close at midnight in Chiang Mai.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.