Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the cultural heart of northern Thailand. Within and around its old moated city stand hundreds of temples, alongside craft villages, night markets and the mountain landscapes of the former Lanna kingdom — a destination where heritage, spirituality and a gentler pace remain part of everyday life.

Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 by King Mangrai as the capital of the Lanna kingdom, which ruled northern Thailand for more than two centuries before falling under Burmese control and later joining Siam. The old city is a square about one and a half kilometres across, still surrounded by its moat and fragments of brick wall, with gates on each side. Within it stand Wat Phra Singh and the ruined great chedi of Wat Chedi Luang.

Beyond the moat, the city reaches the Ping River to the east and the slopes of Doi Suthep to the west, where the golden temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep looks out over the valley. North of town, the Mae Rim and Mae Taeng valleys hold rice fields, elephant sanctuaries and forest; to the east, villages such as San Kamphaeng and Bo Sang keep up weaving, lacquer and umbrella making.

The cool season, from November to February, is the best time to visit, with sunny days, low humidity and fresh mornings in the hills. It opens with Yi Peng, when lanterns are released into the night sky and candles line the moat at the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, usually in November. The flower festival follows in early February, with parades of floral floats through the city.

March and April are hot and often hazy, as smoke from agricultural burning settles over the valley; Songkran, the Thai New Year in mid-April, is celebrated here with particular energy. The rainy season runs from June to October, when showers are usually brief and the rice fields of Mae Rim are at their greenest — a quieter and beautiful time for the countryside resorts.

Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai lies in the Mae Rim valley north of the city, its pavilions set around working rice terraces. On the Ping River, Anantara Chiang Mai Resort occupies the grounds of the former British consulate, and Raya Heritage, further upstream, draws on northern craft traditions in its design. 137 Pillars House, in the Wat Gate quarter east of the river, is built around a restored teak house of the Borneo Company.

LVXVRY books Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai through Four Seasons Preferred Partner and Anantara Chiang Mai Resort through Anantara Journeys — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges each programme attaches to the stay. For Raya Heritage and 137 Pillars House, LVXVRY advises on and arranges the stay directly.