Chiang Dao
The tiny market town of Chiang Dao lies above the Menam Ping gorge on the green slopes of Doi Chiang Dao mountain. Limestone peaks reaching a height of 2186 m (7174 ft) make an impressive backdrop.
By car: from Chaing Mai via Highway 107 (72 km (45 mi.));
magnificent, densely wooded mountain scenery.
By bus: from Chaing Mai (several buses a day).
Although the scenery around Chiang Dao is one of northern Thailand's greatest attractions, Chiang Dao itself, hardly more than a village, has little in the way of sights. Its principal feature is the nearby agricultural development center run by the Thai government. As well as researching into tea and coffee cultivation, the center provides an advisory service for local communities. One of the aims is to enable the mountain folk to switch to crops other than opium, grown here for centuries. Agricultural advisers go out into the Meo, Lisu and Karen villages, lending support to rice growing, arable farming and cattle rearing.