Travel from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai

By bus the journey from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai is scheduled to take 5 hours 10 minutes. There is a single bus company operating services on this route.

Bus Times from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai

There are currently 2 direct bus services a day from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai

Use the Search Box below to buy tickets from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai.

Mae Sai Bus Stop

Bus services to Chiang Mai depart from Mae Sai Bus Terminal, Wiang Phang Kham, Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai 57130.

Chiang Mai Bus Stop

Bus services from Mae Sai to Chiang Mai stop at Chiang Mai Bus Terminal 3, Wat Ket, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand.

Temples in Chiang Mai

One of the things Chiang Mai is best known for is its temples and the highest concentration of these is in the old walled town area of the city, which dates back to 1296.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

The one major out of town temple you can’t miss, however, is Wat Phra That Doi Suthep which is on a hill 16 km by road to the West of Chiang Mai City. It is easy and cheap to get by the red coloured shared taxis which depart from near to the Chang Phuak Gate on the northern perimeter of the old town in Chiang Mai. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a beautiful temple located at 1,073 metres above sea level with fantastic views over Chaing Mai and the surrounding countryside.

Chiang Mai Old Town

Chiang Mai’s old town is a really compact area bounded on all side by a moat on all four sides, each approximately 1,500 metres long. Within this square defensive perimeter are other 30 temples, some bigger than others, but all with points of interest. You can explore all the most interesting temples in Chiang Mai old town on foot in a day.

Temples in the Old Town

The four most popular temples are:

• Wat Phra Singh: Wat Phra Singh is a 14th Century temple with golden chedi towers and a fantastic wooden prayer hall. The temple also has a large and very impressive early 20th Century prayer hall housing a famous 15th Century statue of the Lord Buddha.
• Wat Chedi Luang: Wat Chedi Luang is Chiang Mai’s other major town centre temple. This temple features a massive chedi dating back to the 14th Century that partially collapsed during an earthquake in 1545. Even at a faction of its former height this structure is massively impressive as are the numerous temple buildings which ring the toppled chedi.
• Wat Lok Moli: Wat Lok Moli is a very old temple with a very new recreation of a traditional Lanna style wooden prayer completed in 2003. Very few wooden structures have survived from the heyday period of the Lanna Kingdom in the 14th Century and the reconstruction at Wat Lok Moli has been undertaken using both traditional techniques and traditional materials. It’s a masterpiece of craftsmanship and an excellent representation of what temples in Chiang Mai would have looked like 600 to 700 years ago.
• Wat Chiang Man: Wat Chiang Man is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai. According to legend the city’s founder, King Mangrai, pitched his tent on the grounds of the temple whilst directing the city’s construction in 1296. A large chedi in the temple grounds marks the spot where he stayed. This chedi is one of the most ornately decorated in the city. The prayer hall and the ordination hall are more recent.