When you go to Chiang Mai, you must make the most out of your stay especially if you are coming from a faraway country. It won’t make sense to stay there for a few days and only experience a few activities. With the many once-in-a lifetime activities in Chiang Mai to do, you should choose which are to your liking. In this article, we cover a few, which include beautiful sights and local culture.

The first thing that comes to mind would be bathing with elephants. Elephants are lovable and gentle creatures and you should be thankful that you can have the opportunity to bask in their glory. There are options to hike to an elephant sanctuary for a half-day activity or a full-day one. Better bring your swimwear attire because it is expected that it will be muddy in there with the elephants. However, a word of caution here, is to look for sustainable sanctuaries that are not exploiting or mistreating elephants. 

Another activity you can do in Chiang Mai would be to go to Doi Suthep. In fact, every travel agent you talk to would ask you if you would want to go there. It is a very high mountain that has a very nice view of the city. There is also a huge temple of white elephants, so you should snap a lot of pictures here for memories.

Doi Suthep

Speaking of temples, there is also Wat Phra Singh, one of the most popular Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai. Believe it or not, there are more than 700 monks here who would love to entertain tourists. You can find out more about their lifestyle and customs the authentic way here.

Another place to pique your curiosity would be the long neck Karen tribe. Just from their looks alone, you are going to be curious why they look like that. Don’t worry though, because they are more than willing to answer your questions. Of course, you must come with a tour guide who speaks in Thai because their English is not that good. 

View from Doi Inthanon 

Another picturesque place would be the Doi Inthanon National Park. If you are an avid trekker, Doi Inthanon would be a great mountain to climb. It is one of the most renowned in Southeast Asia. Otherwise, you can also admire the scenery, and should bring your camera to capture the amazing scenery.

Lastly, the Loi Krathong festival is one festival that is only celebrated in Chiang Mai so it is definitely one of the once in a lifetime activities in Chiang Mai. There are a lot of activities being done by the locals there to worship the Buddha. It is going to be interesting to see how they do it in front of a large crowd of tourists too. 

In conclusion, if you are planning to explore Chiang Mai fully, you must book a trip for at least a week. You can check out a Singapore to Chiang Mai flight here, if you are coming from Singapore. There are just so many things to do with so little time if you decide to book for just three days there. You won’t regret staying longer than that as there are so many sights, sounds, and emotions to feel.