Seven Hundred Curves North
The road to Pai is the reason to go to Pai — and then the valley keeps you there longer than you planned.
Route 1095 has just over seven hundred and sixty curves between Chiang Mai and Pai, and the town has a sign to prove it. Three hours of climbing, descending and turning brings you into a wide green valley that has been a stop on the traveller circuit for decades — hot springs, waterfalls, a walking street, a canyon, and a great deal of banana bread.
Pai divides people. Come for the road and the valley rather than the town's reputation and you will get the best of it. Stay two nights; driving it there and back in a day wastes the road and tires you out.
The route
Stop by stop, with the drive between each.
- 1
Mok Fa Waterfall
An hour out of the city, a good excuse to break the climb.
A single drop from a cliff into a pool, then away down the stream. Mok Fa cave nearby is a bat roost, and there are marked nature trails; the area is quiet enough for birdwatching.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 1h 11m · 54 km - 2
Tham Lod turn-off
Signposted north near Soppong.
Pang Mapha is the northernmost district (amphoe) of Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand. Wikipedia
Wikipedia →Philipp Schäufele · CC BY-SA 1.0 - 3
Pai Canyon (Kong Lan)
Narrow eroded ridges with sheer drops and no railings. Sunset is the moment; sensible shoes and no bravado.
Narrow ridges of red earth left by erosion, a short walk up from the road south of Pai, with paths along the crests that are comfortable in places and not at all in others. It is the town's sunset spot; wear shoes with grip and stay off the narrow sections when it is wet.
Wikimedia Commons →Bernhard T · CC BY-SA 3.0 1h 17m · 71 km - 4
Tha Pai Memorial Bridge & hot springs
A WWII-era bridge, and mineral springs hot enough to cook an egg, with pools cooled for bathing.
The steel bridge on the road into Pai stands on the line of the crossing the Japanese army built in the Second World War and burned on its retreat; it is a photo stop now. A few kilometres on, Tha Pai hot springs rise in the forest, hot enough near the source to boil an egg and cool enough downstream to sit in.
Wikimedia Commons →David290 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2 min · 2 km - 5
Ban Santichon
A Yunnanese Chinese village with tea houses, clay ovens and a viewpoint, settled by families who came over the border generations ago.
A Yunnanese village outside Pai, founded by Kuomintang families who came south after 1949. Rammed-earth houses, a tea house, ponies for children and a wooden swing-wheel; the food is Yunnanese, with steamed buns and slow-stewed pork leg.
Wikimedia Commons →WalkOnWater93 · CC BY-SA 4.0 16 min · 13 km - 6
Wat Phra That Mae Yen
Three hundred and fifty steps to a white Buddha above the valley. Best at sunset, looking back over the fields.
The white Buddha on the hill east of Pai, reached by a long staircase, with the whole valley laid out below. Sunset is when everyone climbs; the temple proper is at the foot of the hill and is quieter.
Wikimedia Commons →Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0 11 min · 7 km - 7
Pai walking street
Food stalls and small bars along the main lane, busy every night in the cool season.
The town's main street closes to traffic each evening and turns into a market of food stalls, crafts and bars from about five until late. It is the reason Pai's evenings are busier than its days.
Wikimedia Commons →Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4 min · 2 km
Best time to go
November to February: cool, clear, and the valley fills with mist at dawn. It is also peak season, so book ahead. The green season makes the road slippery and landslides occasionally close sections of 1095. Burning season is hazy and the valley traps the smoke.
Before you set off
This road has a serious reputation for injuring inexperienced riders. If you are not already comfortable on a motorbike, take a car; the hospital in Pai sees the results of the other decision daily. Fuel in Mae Malai and again in Pai. The curves induce motion sickness in many passengers — sit them in front and stop often. Do not ride 1095 at night.
