Mae Hong Son is a remote province located in the far northwestern corner of Thailand, bordering Myanmar.
An excellent way to explore Mae Hong Son is by doing the Loop Tour, which begins and ends in Chiang Mai City.
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
The Mae Hong Son Loop
This is a fantastic motorcycle tour (or by car if you can’t ride a motorbike) that takes you through some of the most beautiful mountain terrain in Southeast Asia. Stops along the way include the picturesque towns of Pai, Pang Mapha, Mae Hong Son, and Mae Sariang.
The total travel distance (via highways) is approximately 500 km, so you should allow at least seven days to fully experience the major sightseeing attractions along the route.
Notable attractions include:
- Stunning mountain scenery
- Scenic viewpoints
- Caves
- Hot springs
- Hill tribe villages
How To Get To The Mae Hong Son Province
For most travelers coming to Thailand and interested in doing the Mae Hong Son Loop, the first step is to travel from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
There are several transportation options available for this 700 km journey, including:
- Domestic flights
- Overnight sleeper trains
- Overnight sleeper buses
Each of these options provides a convenient way to reach Chiang Mai before starting your journey on the Mae Hong Son Loop.
Click this link for transportation options from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Travelling By Car
For travelers who have the time and budget, the option of renting a vehicle in Bangkok is also worth considering.
Note: The drive from Bangkok to Chiang Mai takes approximately 10 hours.
Cars and SUVs can be hired at Bangkok Rentacar for very reasonable rates.
Click here for booking enquiries
Note: The highway distance doesn’t include the side road trips to the various sightseeing attractions. This can add at least 100 km to the travel distance, particularly if you’re interested in seeing the remote hill tribes along the border of Myanmar.
Travelling the Mae Hong Son Loop
The start point for the loop trip is Chiang Mai. Once you arrive there, it’s probably worth having a couple of nights in town to get your bearings and sort out your transportation before getting underway.
Chiang Mai Accommodation
The Montha Hotel, located near the city center, is a great accommodation choice if you’re planning to do the Mae Hong Son Loop. Their room rates are very reasonable (600–700 THB per night), and they have a large car park directly across the road from the hotel.
If you’re renting a motorbike or car for the loop trip, this is a safe place to park it overnight before you depart.
Additionally, an excellent feature of the hotel is the attached German Restaurant, which offers a full German buffet (daily) for just 239 THB per person.
Click here for booking inquiries
Chaing Mai Transportaion Options
For the traditionalists, the preferred mode of transport is a motorbike. There are a number of motorbike rental outlets in Chiang Mai offering scooters and larger bikes at very reasonable rates.
Scooters are available everywhere, but if you want a larger bike for a bit more comfort, then POP BIG BIKE CHIANG MAI is highly recommended.
Click this link for for Pop Big Bike booking inquiries
What Type Of Weather Should You Expect?
Although only 132 km from Chiang Mai, the climatic difference between the two locations is marked, particularly in the dry season (December to February).
At this time of the year, Pai is significantly colder than Chiang Mai, so make sure you’ve got a warm jacket and a woolen hat when you set off.
On the Road to Pai
Additionally, Highway 1095 is a winding mountainous route that demands due care and concentration for the greater part of the journey.
For an excellent coffee break en route, stop at the 32 Coffee Hill & Resort.
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
The Mae Hong Son Loop – Chiang Mai To Pai
- Distance: 132 km
- Travel time: 3–4 hours
Clickhere for the best directions
Sightseeing Attractions on Route
Once you start driving up into the mountains, there are some nice viewpoints and interesting attractions along the road to Pai. The best attractions are probably Pong Duet Hot Springs and the tea factory at the Halal Restaurant in Mae Sae Village.
Pong Duet Hot Springs
Pong Duet Hot Springs is located approximately 6 km off Route 1095 and is a great spot for a warm mineral bath on the way to Pai. The site is well developed, with a number of thermal pools as well as bungalow-style accommodation.
There’s also a well-constructed nature trail that takes sightseers to the source of the hot water—an area of scalding hot geysers.
The entry fee for foreigners is 300 THB per person.
Click here for directions from Chiang Mai to Pong Duet Hotsprings
Exploring Pai Township
The town of Pai is one of the most popular stops on the Mae Hong Son Loop trip. There are a number of notable sightseeing attractions in the surrounding area, making it a great base to travel out from each day.
It also has an excellent choice of restaurants and cafés, which add to the attraction of spending more than one night there. Additionally, the nightly street market (in the town center) has a great selection of street food and snacks.
Recommended Budget Accommodation in Pai
An excellent choice for budget accommodation is the Heart of Pai Resort. The premises are located on the main road into Pai, about 700 meters from the central café and restaurant area.
The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and air-conditioned, and a bargain at 400 THB per night.
Click here for Pai budget accommodation booking inquiries
Recommended Mid-Range Accommodation in Pai
An excellent choice for mid-range accommodation is the B2 Pai Resort. The premises are in a quieter location of town (approximately 500 meters from the restaurant and bar area) and feature a good-sized swimming pool fronting the rooms.
Click here for Pai mid-range accommodation booking inquiries
Sightseeing In Pai
As mentioned, there are a number of worthwhile sightseeing attractions in the surrounding area. Most of them are a few kilometers out of town, so having your own transportation is a necessity.
If you don’t have a motorbike, you’ll need to rent one to reach the various locations.
The most popular sightseeing locations are:
- Pai Canyon
- Pai Land Split
- Pam Bok Waterfall (rainy season)
- Ho Kuu So Bamboo Bridge (rainy season)
- Pai Taradon Geyser
- Tha Pai Hot Spring
- Tha Pai Memorial Bridge (WW2 relic)
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
Pai Canyon
This is an interesting sightseeing attraction, just a few kilometers south of Pai Township and just off the main highway.
This attraction has no entry fee and is worth 30–60 minutes of your time. From the car park, a cement footpath takes you up to the top of a peak, where you get a broad view across a landscape punctuated with large sinkholes.
Narrow tracks run along ridge lines between the sinkholes. However, the track is quite hazardous in places, as there are a number of spots where the trail drops steeply from one level to another without any form of handholds.
Click this links for directions to the Pai Canyon
Pai Taradon Geyser
This scalding hot geyser is located 20 km south of Pai and is well worth a couple of hours of your sightseeing time.
The site is very easy to find as it’s located right next to the road. There’s a large parking area with some thatched-roof hawker stalls nearby. They sell small bamboo baskets with eggs so you can boil them in the scalding hot water bubbling up from underground.
There is currently no entry fee for this site.
Click here for directions to the Pai Taradon Geyser
The Mae Hong Son Loop – Pai To Pangmaphai
- Distance: 44 km
- Travel time: Approximately 1 hour
Click this link for directions from Pai to Pangmapha
Stage two of the loop trip is relatively short in terms of time and distance. However, the road takes you through some of the most rugged, mountainous terrain in the area.
Additionally, the township of Pangmapha (approximately 44 km west of Pai) is the primary caving area of Thailand. For those interested in spelunking activities, Pangmapha is well worth a two-day stop on your way through.
For those on a tight schedule, I’d recommend checking out Lod Cave (Thailand’s biggest cave) on your way through.
Pangmapha Caving
The area around Pangmapha has the greatest concentration of caves anywhere in Thailand.
If you’re a keen spelunker, a great choice of accommodation is Cave Lodge, located a few kilometers north of Pangmapha Township. Cave Lodge offers guided tours to the best caves in the area.
Click this link for the Cave Lodge booking inquiries
Budget And Mid-Range Accommodation In Pangmapha
An excellent mid-range accommodation choice in Pangmapha Township is the Soppong River Inn.
Click here for booking inquiries at Soppong River Inn
For budget accommodation, we recomend the Jungle Guesthouse.
Click here for booking inquiries at the Jungle Guesthouse
Lod Cave Rafting Tour
This cave is probably the premier mainstream tourist caving attraction in Mae Hong Son. Situated approximately ten kilometers north of Highway 1095, the road branches off at Pangmapha and takes you directly to the parking area at the entrance to the site.
Click the following link for directions from Pangmapha Township to Lod Cave
Lod Cave Rafting Tour
Lod Cave is well set up for the many tourists who visit the site each day. Thai-style open-air restaurants, including Som Tam stands, are lined along one side of the car park.
Entry Fee: The entry fee for foreigners is 250 THB per person and includes a tour guide for the trip through the cave. However, it’s worth noting that a minimum of two people (a total of 500 THB) is required for the rafting tour.
Fish Feeding: An additional attraction of the cave tour is the swarms of large carp that inhabit the waters of the cave. Just beyond the entry point, there’s a row of fish food sellers offering bags of pellets for just 20 THB per bag.
Getting To The Lod Cave
The walk to the cave entrance is an easy 600 meters (from the car park), and the properly constructed pathways pass through a wide expanse of manicured open lawn areas set up for camping and picnicking.
The last part of the track (roughly 300 meters) is dirt and follows the river, which runs through the cave.
The Lod Cave Tour
The trip into the cave is fairly easy. The trail through the cave follows the right side of the river and leads up to the first cave room.
After a few minutes viewing this first cave room, you’ll return to the main trail and move on to the second cave room, beyond the bamboo bridge (which crosses the river). The second and largest cave room is accessed from the end of the internal trail.
Note: There is presently no lighting system in the cave, so it’s highly recommended that you bring your own torches, as the guides only have kerosene lamps.
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
The Rafting Tour
Seeing the third cave room requires a 100-meter raft ride to the end of the cave. On the way, you’ll be able to feed the multitude of carp that closely follow the raft through.
Phi Mairn Coffin Cave Tour
This interesting cavern site is one of a number of Coffin Caves in Pangmapha District. Phi Marn Cave is located approximately 1 km north of Pangmapha Township, on Route 1095.
Click this link directions from Pai
The site is easy to access, as the parking area is right next to the highway. From the parking area, take the stairs up to the ticket office (not manned during the COVID period) and follow the cement path to the left.
The pathway runs for approximately 300 meters to the base of the cliffs, and from there, a series of steel ladders takes you up to the start of the route through the caverns.
The Cavern Tour
The route is actually a loop that circuits through three caverns and brings you back to the start point (a fork in the trail, indicated by signage).
After working your way through a series of caverns, you’ll arrive at Coffin Cave Number One (the first coffin cave is the biggest and the best).
Cavern One: At the rear of the cave is a well-preserved teak coffin on supports. A plaque nearby indicates that the coffin is approximately 3,000 years old and a relic of the early inhabitants of Thailand.
Cavern Two: To get to Caverns Two and Three, backtrack to the trail fork and follow the indicating signage. Cavern Two has no coffins, just some small pieces of timber, which are remnants.
Cavern Three: This cavern has another fully preserved coffin on supports, and a few meters below (as you head down the stairway), there are a number of coffins standing upright against the cliff face.
Phi Marn Coffin Cave Tour Summary
This is an interesting tour that should take only an hour at an easy pace. However, the trail through the caverns has a number of places where you need to either climb up or bend down and squeeze through small openings, so a certain amount of exertion is required to complete it.
Other popular caves and attractions in the area including the Ban Ja Bo Caves, Coral Caves, and the Nam Bor Pee (Spirit Well).
Download the full Mae Hong Son Loop travel guide, click here
The Mae Hong Son Loop – Pangmapha To Mae Hong Son
- Travel time: 1.5 hours
- Distance: 70 km
Click this link for directions
A few kilometers north of Mae Hong Son is a sightseeing attraction that may or may not be worth an hour of your time, depending on whether you want to spend 200 THB to look at some fish.
It is promoted as a cave site, but there’s actually no cave—just a lot of large carp swimming about in pools of water. The stream comes out from under a rock, which some enterprising local has deemed to be a cave.
Bags of vegetable off-cuts are available for 20 THB to feed the fish.
Click this link for directions to the Fish Cave
From the Fish Cave car park, it’s approximately 20 km further south to Mae Hong Son Township.
Mae Hong Son Township
In times past, Mae Hong Son was a bustling tourist center. The primary sightseeing attraction, prior to COVID appearing on the scene, was the boat trips to the Hmong villages located a few kilometers up the Pai River.
Unfortunately, this excellent sightseeing experience has been shut down to protect the remote communities. As of January 2022, the riverside departure point (boat jetty) was closed.
This sightseeing experience may reopen as tourism activities return to normal in Thailand.
Click this link for directions to the jetty
Accommodation In Mae Hong Son
An excellent mid-range accommodation choice in Mae Hong Son is the Imperial Hotel, which includes a buffet breakfast with the room rate.
Click this link for booking inquiries
The Mae Hong Son Loop – Pangmapha To Mae Hong Son
- Travel time: 4 hours
- Distance: 160 km
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
Heading south on Highway 108, Mae Sariang is only another 160 km from Mae Hong Son. However, the road is a winding, mountainous traverse which, allowing for rest stops and sightseeing, can take up to four hours to cover.
The scenery along the way is quite splendid, with a number of notable mountain viewpoints. The best is probably Pha Bong Viewpoint, located approximately 20 km south of Mae Hong Son.
Other attractions along the way include a number of thermal springs and a couple of small caves.
Click this link for directions to Mae Hong Son
The Hmong Microwave Village Viewpoint
This is an excellent mountain area with Hmong hill tribes, located approximately 38 km south of Mae Hong Son. The primary feature is a peak with a microwave tower, which provides splendid views of the surrounding terrain.
Heading south on Highway 108, the turn-off is on the right at Maisangnam Forest Park.
Click this link for directions
This is a picturesque town in the southern section of Mae Hong Son Province. It sits at the junction of Highways 105 & 108.
For those doing the Loop Tour, it’s normally the last stop before the final 200 km leg across to Chiang Mai.
The traveler/tourist accommodation strip runs along the eastern bank of the Yuam River. There are plenty of guesthouses in the 600–700 THB range, with nice balcony views across the river.
Recommended Accommodation
An excellent budget accommodation choice in Mae Sariang is the Riverbank Guesthouse.
Click here for booking inquiries
The Mae Hong Son Loop – Pangmapha To Mae Sariang To Chiang Mai
- Travel time: 4 hours
- Distance: 200 km
Click here for the full Mae Hong Son Loop tour PDF
The Final Stage Of The Mae Hong Son Loop
This final section of the loop takes you back to Chiang Mai. The first 100 km takes you through more winding, mountainous terrain. The final 100 km stretch into Chiang Mai is across relatively flat landscape, where the ride becomes easier but increasingly more traffic-congested.
Sightseeing Attractions
The first 100 km section has a number of sightseeing attractions worth exploring, including a couple of pine forest areas with bungalows and camping facilities.
However, if you’re tight for time, the best stop is Op Luang National Park.
Click this link for directions
Op Luang National Park Entry Fees
As with all national parks in Thailand, there is an entry fee for visiting Op Luang National Park.
As of January 2022, the entry fee for foreigners is 300 THB.
Hiking Trails
Op Luang National Park is well set up for safe sightseeing. There is a hiking trail that forms a 5 km loop through the peaks and takes you up to a couple of nice viewpoints.
The primary feature is the river canyon, which the trail follows as it returns to the start/finish point.
Prehistoric Human Settlement
The area is also a site of early human settlement in Thailand and is promoted accordingly. Along the hiking trail, there is a location where ancient drawings can be seen on the sandstone rock.
We hope you have enjoyed our travel guide for the Mae Hong Son Loop, and you get to experience all of the amazing sights that this tour has to offer. For the full, FREE, travel tour guide, please click the link below.
