Pai: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Pai is a small town in a green valley of the mountains near the Burmese border, at the end of a road from Chiang Mai famous for its hundreds of curves. Once a Shan market village, it became a backpackers’ town in the 1990s, and it is one of the favourite places of young Israeli travellers. Ninety minutes; the evenings are the town’s best hours.
The ten best sights in Pai
1Wat KlangThe temple in the middle of town
2White BuddhaClimb the steps at sunset for the valley view
3SantichonA Yunnanese Chinese village of mud houses
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4Yun Lai Viewpoint
The sea of mist at sunrise
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5Mo Paeng Waterfall
Rocks you can slide down into pools
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6Pam Bok Waterfall
A waterfall in a narrow gorge
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7Land Split
A crack that opened in a farm; fruit for a donation
8Coffee in LoveA hillside café with a view of the valley
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9Pai Canyon
Narrow ridges at sunset; mind the edges
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10Memorial Bridge
The bridge on the old wartime road
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Pai →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Pai:
Free walking tours in Pai
The town in the valley
Pai is a small town in a green valley of the mountains near the Burmese border, at the end of a road from Chiang Mai famous for its hundreds of curves. Once a Shan market village, it became a backpackers’ town in the 1990s, and it is one of the favourite places of young Israeli travellers. Ninety minutes; the evenings are the town’s best hours.
- Walking Street · Every evening the main street closes to cars and fills with food stalls, handmade jewellery and live music. You will hear Hebrew on every corner: Pai is a fixture of the Israeli trip after the army, with Hebrew menus, and the Chabad House in town hosts large Shabbat dinners.
- Wat Klang · The temple in the middle of town, built in the style of the Shan people who settled this valley — the Tai Yai, related to the Thais but with their own language and their own tiered temple roofs.
- White Buddha · On a hill east of town sits a great white Buddha, reached by a staircase of more than three hundred and fifty steps. At sunset the whole valley, its rice fields and the mountains turn gold below.
- Land Split · In 2008 the ground of a farmer’s field split open in a long crack metres deep, ruining his crops. Instead of farming he now welcomes visitors, offering them his roselle juice, fruit and nuts for a donation.
- Coffee in Love · A café on the hillside south of town, with a view down the Pai valley, one of the cafés that made the town a place for slow days.
- Pai Canyon · Narrow ridges of red earth with steep drops on both sides, eroded by rain into a small canyon. It is the town’s sunset spot; the paths have no rails, so go carefully, and not after rain.
The western valley
West of Pai the road climbs past a Chinese village on a hill, a viewpoint over the sea of mist and waterfalls in the forest. Half a day by scooter; drive carefully, the roads are steep and accidents are common.
- Santichon · A village of Yunnanese Chinese, descendants of Nationalist soldiers and families who fled China after the communist victory in 1949 and settled in these hills. Its mud-brick houses, lanterns and Yunnan noodles and tea are a corner of China in Thailand.
- Yun Lai Viewpoint · Above the Chinese village, a viewpoint where at sunrise in the cool season the valley lies under a white sea of mist, with the hilltops rising out of it like islands.
- Mo Paeng Waterfall · A waterfall over smooth rocks that make a natural slide into the pools below, popular with travellers on hot afternoons; in the dry season the water is low.
- Pam Bok Waterfall · A waterfall hidden at the end of a narrow gorge between high rock walls, cool and dim even at midday, reached on foot from a bamboo bridge.
- Land Split · On the way back, the farmer’s table under the trees, with a glass of red roselle juice from his own field.
- Walking Street · Back in town for dinner at the night stalls — khao soi, a curry noodle soup of northern Thailand, is the dish to look for.
Hot springs, the bridge and the cave
South of town are hot springs and the old wartime bridge; north, on the road to Mae Hong Son, a great river cave with coffins two thousand years old. A full day by car or scooter.
- Memorial Bridge · In the Second World War the Japanese army, which had moved into Thailand, built a road through Pai toward Burma, with a bridge over the Pai river here. The steel bridge standing today replaced the wartime one after floods and is kept as a memorial.
- Tha Pai Hot Spring · In a forest park, hot water comes out of the ground at near boiling point and runs down in streams that cool as they go, so you choose your pool by temperature. Visitors boil eggs in the hottest spring.
- Strawberry farms · The cool winter nights of the valley let farmers grow strawberries from about December to February, sold fresh, in shakes and as jam along the road.
- Sai Ngam Hot Spring · North of town, a natural pool of warm, clear water about the temperature of a bath, shaded by big trees — gentler than Tha Pai and best early in the day.
- Tham Lod · A huge cave through which a river flows. Local guides with gas lanterns take you through its chambers by bamboo raft, past giant stalagmites and ancient teak log coffins left by a forgotten people some two thousand years ago. At dusk hundreds of thousands of swifts fly back in.
- White Buddha · Back in time for the sunset from the white Buddha over the valley, the end of every good day in Pai.
Getting to Pai and getting around
- Pai airstrip · A small airstrip; most come by minibus from Chiang Mai, about three hours
Cheap eats in Pai
Pai eats the food of the north and of every traveller who came: khao soi, a coconut curry noodle soup topped with crispy noodles; Yunnanese noodles and tea in Santichon; and on Walking Street everything from lasagne to falafel and shakshuka for the Israelis. Night-market stalls cost a dollar or two.
- Walking Street · Khao soi and everything else
- Santichon · Yunnan noodles and tea tasting
- Strawberry farms · Strawberry shakes in winter
- Coffee in Love · Coffee with the view
Museums in Pai
Pai has no museums; its history is the Shan temples, the Chinese village and the wartime bridge.
- Memorial Bridge · The wartime road
- Santichon · The Yunnanese village
- Tham Lod · The ancient coffins
Nature and day trips near Pai
A green valley of rice fields among forested mountains, with waterfalls, hot springs, a small canyon and a great cave.
- Pai Canyon · Sunset on the ridges
- Yun Lai Viewpoint · The sea of mist
- Pam Bok Waterfall · The gorge waterfall
- Tha Pai Hot Spring · Hot streams
- Tham Lod · The river cave
Things to do in Pai with kids
With children: a waterfall slide, warm pools, strawberries to pick and a raft through a cave.
- Mo Paeng Waterfall · The rock slide
- Sai Ngam Hot Spring · A warm pool
- Strawberry farms · Picking in winter
- Tham Lod · The bamboo raft
Holy places in Pai
Shan Buddhist temples, the white Buddha on the hill — and a Chabad House where Israeli travellers gather for Shabbat.
- White Buddha · The Buddha on the hill
- Wat Klang · The Shan temple
- Walking Street · Shabbat at the Chabad House in town
Nightlife in Pai
Pai’s nights are live music in small bars, fire shows and the walking street, with travellers from everywhere and a lot of Hebrew.
- Walking Street · Live music bars
- Pai Canyon · Sunset gathering
- Wat Klang · Bars around the centre
Frequently asked questions about Pai
What is there to see in Pai?
The top sights in Pai are Wat Klang, White Buddha and Santichon. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Pai?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Pai without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Pai?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Pai, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The town in the valley.
How do you get to Pai and get around?
The main ways are Pai airstrip. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Pai, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Pai that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Pai for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.