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The village of Mae Kampong from the air: tin roofs along a single road in a steep forested valley

Mae Kampong, full day

The Giant Cafe and the mountain village of Mae Kampong

A coffee in the branches of a tree, and a mountain village that decided how it wanted to be visited.

Full dayMae Kampongfrom €44
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Duration

Full day

Stops

5 on the route

Starts in

Mae Kampong

Price

From €44

The experience

Best for
Coffee in a treehouse and a mountain village
Not for you if
You want an activity. This is a day of looking at things and drinking coffee, and it is honest about that

Mae Kampong sits high in the hills about fifty kilometres east of Chiang Mai, up a road that stops pretending to be straight somewhere around the halfway point. It is cooler up there than in the basin: you leave the heat of the city and arrive somewhere a second layer can be welcome. The village grew around miang, fermented tea leaves that are chewed rather than brewed, and later around coffee. When the crop economy thinned, the village organised its own tourism rather than selling itself to an operator, and it is one of the reasons the place still feels like somewhere people live.

The Giant Chiang Mai is the other half of the day and it is exactly what it sounds like: a cafe built as a set of platforms in and around a large tree, reached by walkways, where you drink coffee some distance above the ground looking out over the valley. It is unashamedly a place built for a photograph, and it is also genuinely pleasant to sit in, which are not mutually exclusive. Go early in the day if you want the view without waiting for a table.

Read the rest

The village is built on a slope, so walking it means climbs and steps. A stream runs through the middle of it with houses stacked up both banks, there is a waterfall a short walk above, and the temple, Wat Khantha Phueksa, has a small ordination hall that stands in the stream itself. Eight hours door to door with an English-speaking driver, most of the value being that the road up is not one you want to meet for the first time on a rented scooter.

You leave the heat of the city and, on a cool-season morning, arrive somewhere that wants a jumper.

The route

  1. A hairpin bend of tarmac road seen from above, cut through the dense forest of the north

    East and up

    Fifty kilometres out of the basin, the last stretch in switchbacks, climbing into cooler air.

  2. The Giant Chiang Mai

    Platforms built into a large tree, linked by walkways, with the valley in front of you and a coffee in your hand well above the ground.

  3. The single street of Mae Kampong between wooden houses and stalls, forested hills closing the far end

    Mae Kampong village

    A stream through the middle, houses stacked up both banks, and a place that organised its own tourism instead of selling itself to one.

  4. The small hall of Wat Khantha Phueksa under the trees, in the stream that runs through the village

    Wat Khantha Phueksa

    The village temple, whose small ordination hall stands in the stream itself.

  5. The waterfall above the village

    A short walk uphill from the lanes, and the reason to give the village two hours rather than one.

Why this one

01

Coffee in a tree

The Giant is a set of platforms built into a large tree and linked by walkways. Unashamedly made for photographs, and genuinely good to sit in.

02

A temple hall in the stream

Wat Khantha Phueksa, the village temple, has a small ordination hall that stands in the stream itself.

03

Cooler mountain air

You leave the heat of the city and arrive somewhere you may want a jumper, especially early in the morning from November to mid-February.

04

A village that runs its own tourism

Mae Kampong organised its homestays and guiding itself rather than selling the village to an operator, and it still reads as a place people live in.

05

Somebody else drives the road

Fifty kilometres east and a long climb of switchbacks. This is not a route to meet for the first time on a rented scooter.

What is included

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off in Chiang Mai
  • Transport for the whole day with an English-speaking driver
  • The drive up to Mae Kampong and time in the village
  • The stop at The Giant Chiang Mai

Not included

  • Coffee and food at The Giant, and anything you eat in the village
  • The small entrance charged at some of the village sites
  • A warm layer, which you will want and which nobody mentions
  • Tips, welcome but never expected

Practical detail

Duration
About 8 hours door to door
Where
Mae Kampong, roughly 50 km east of Chiang Mai, in the hills
Pickup
From your hotel in Chiang Mai. Time and point are confirmed when you book
The drive
Around an hour and a half each way, the last part in switchbacks
Temperature
Cooler than the city, and cold in the early morning from November to mid-February. Bring a layer
Walking
The village is built on a slope, with climbs and steps, and the waterfall is a short walk uphill. Wear shoes with a good grip
The Giant
Platforms in a tree, reached by walkways. Not suitable if heights are a problem for you; the rest of the day still is
Dress code
Shoulders and knees covered at the temple, and shoes off inside
Booking window
At least 2 hours ahead
Cancellation
Free cancellation applies; the exact terms for your booking are shown before you pay

Read the guide page: where to stay ▸

Read the article: Mae Kampong from Chiang Mai ▸

Common questions

What is The Giant, exactly?

A cafe built as platforms in and around a large tree, linked by walkways, some distance above the ground and looking out over the valley. It is a place designed to be photographed and it does not pretend otherwise. It is also a pleasant place to sit with a coffee, which is the part the photographs undersell. If heights bother you, there is seating at ground level.

Is Mae Kampong touristy?

It is visited, and it has not been hollowed out. The difference is who organised it: the village set up its own homestays and guiding rather than selling access to an operator, so the money stays in the place and the place still functions as a village. You will see other visitors. You will also see people going about a Tuesday.

How cold does it get?

Cooler than the city, and genuinely cold on a cool-season morning, from November to mid-February, so bring a layer. The hills are no escape from the smoke season, from about mid-February to April and sometimes into early May: the smoke reaches them too, and altitude is no guarantee of clear air.

Is there much walking?

Some, and most of it on a slope. The village is built along a steep road and a stream, with climbs and steps, and the waterfall is a short walk uphill. If you want a hiking day, Doi Inthanon and the Kew Mae Pan ridge are on this site and are a different proposition entirely.

Could I ride up on a scooter instead?

People do, and the road is the argument against it. It is fifty kilometres, the last stretch is a sustained climb in switchbacks, and it is slippery in the rain. On a rented scooter, in traffic, without knowing the bends, it is the kind of decision that reads badly in hindsight. The driver is most of what you are paying for.

What is miang?

Fermented tea leaves, chewed rather than brewed: the crop this village grew up around, before coffee. It is worth asking about while you are there.

Book it

Ready when you are

Dates, times and live prices come up at the next step. Booking takes two minutes, and the cancellation terms are shown before you pay.

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