03Places

The north

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is about 700 kilometres north of Bangkok. It was founded in 1296 as the capital of Lan Na, and the name means new city. The municipality covers 40.216 square kilometres and counted 127,240 people in the 2019 figure, while the continuous urban area is past a million. The old city is roughly square, about a mile each way, and the moat and remaining brick wall still mark the edge. In January the mean low is 15.7°C. In April the mean high reaches 36.7°C. Annual rainfall in the 1991–2020 normals is 1,139.2 millimetres, with August the wettest month at 223.3. About 15 kilometres from the centre, Doi Suthep rises to 1,676 metres and the twin peak of Doi Pui to 1,685. A building on the slope stands at 1,073 metres. The Northern Line reached the city when the railway was completed in 1922; long-distance trains now leave Krung Thep Aphiwat in the capital. The airport opened on 1 October 1921 and handled 9,517,206 passengers in 2025. Two days around the moat are a fair start, and a third if you go up the mountain.

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Founded

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Municipality