Full Day Doi Angkhang Royal Projects from Chiang Mai

One of Thailand’s coolest spots prides itself officially labelled as a Royal Project after the inauguration of this Royal Agricultural Projects by the Late H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Bearing the nickname ‘Little Switzerland’, Doi Angkhang has been for generations the home of hill tribes and nowadays still under the patronage and protection of the Royal Family. But Doi Angkhang is more, much more; elevated up to an altitude of 1400 meters above sea level, the region is filled with mountain ranges, valleys and forests all the way up to the Burmese border. A full day tour that just embraces all what makes this area such a treat to visit when in Chiang Mai.

Right after breakfast at your Chiang Mai hotel, your guide and driver for the day welcome you at the lobby, ready to bring you high up into the mountains. The road to Doi Angkhang is one of the most picturesque in the whole north with panoramic views from the moment you leave the city borders all the way until Doi Angkhang Royal Agricultural Station. En route, your guide will give you the insights about the change of commercial value of the region – from trafficking narcotics to a sustainable means of agricultural cultivation. The cooler climates up on Doi Angkhang have been favoured since the late King Rama IX instilled the region as a Royal Agricultural Project, both for locals and visitors alike.

Once we reach the top of Doi (means ‘mountain’) Angkhang, we head straight to the core of the projects. Using advanced technologies, sustainable means and fertilisation methods and the knowledge of which crop acclimatizes best to the cooler temperatures, the ever-growing interest for ethnic minorities to make a living have spread throughout the country. The quality of the non-indigenous crops has over the years dramatically improved, aside from an increasingly improvement of the quality of life for the local residents under a separate Royal Hill-Tribe Development Project. You will be guided through the projects, see plantation techniques, witness how the locals make use of their training to grow quality fruits and different type of flowers.

We enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before heading in the direction of the Thai – Burmese border, passing by some of Doi Angkhang’s spectacular natural sights. This is the region where the Black Muser have settled comfortably after leaving fleeing from Tibet. Together with your guide, walk through one of the settlements and see how these non-native Thai minorities call this home for the past generations. If you want, you may help support them by purchasing their handicraft products: through these purchases, the quality of the local’s lives will improve in the long term. Growing cash crops has provided the hill tribes with a legal source of income and enables the hill tribes to be self-reliant.

It is time to make our way back to Chiang Mai via the same route as we arrived, and we expect to be back in Chiang Mai at around 18:00 hrs.