Pai: the bohemian valley of northern Thailand where cool air is still a surprise

Pai is a town of 2,000 inhabitants in Mae Hong Son province, in northwestern Thailand, nestled at the centre of a valley ringed by mountains. To reach it from Chiang Mai you must navigate 762 curves (someone has counted them) along a mountain road that discourages less determined travellers — and it is precisely this that has preserved the character of the place.

The valley and its landscapes

The Pai valley is a mosaic of rice paddies, bamboo, hot springs and small villages of the Shan and Karen hill tribes. Pai Canyon is a ridge of red earth that you walk along on foot — narrow, unguarded, with a view over the valley on both sides. At sunset, the colours of the earth change by the minute. The Tha Pai hot springs are natural pools in the forest, hot enough to boil an egg (locals demonstrate this to tourists with baskets of eggs for sale).

The bamboo bridge and the waterfalls

The Boon Ko Ku So Bridge is an 800-metre bamboo bridge spanning the rice paddies — it changes every year, rebuilt after the rainy season. Pam Bok waterfall, 8 kilometres from the centre, is a natural pool hidden in the jungle, reachable on foot in 15 minutes. Mo Paeng, larger, has natural rock slides.

The atmosphere

Pai has the feel of a 1970s hippie commune — bars with live music, cat cafés, a night market selling mango smoothies and 30-baht pad thai. But it is also a place where farmers work the fields, monks walk at dawn and the morning mist fills the valley like a white lake. The contrast between the travellers' bohemian spirit and rural Thai life is the essence of Pai's appeal.

How to get there

From Chiang Mai: minibus (3 hours, 762 curves — take travel sickness tablets) or motorbike (for the more adventurous). Best period: November–February (cool and dry, spectacular morning mist). From March onwards, agricultural burning haze reduces visibility. The rainy season (June–October) turns the rice paddies a deep green but makes the roads muddy.