Wat Chan Pine Forest

It’s something like tradition for me to go up north of Thailand during New Year holiday. The main reason that I “always” go up Northern Thailand, “former Lanna Kingdom” for more specifically, is that there are plenty of mountains and forests with fresh air as well as beautiful local tradition and architectural buildings in Northern style mostly found at the temples.

And this time, we focus on “Chiang Mai”, the capital of Northern Thailand again. But our main target is far away from the city centre.

We will take you to “Wat Chan Pine Forest”.

From Chiang Mai city centre or we called “Amphoe Muang”, there are two main ways to get to Wat Chan Pine Forest.

1. Chiang Mai city centre – Pai – Wat Chan (Pai route)
If you are thinking of lovely coffee shop along the way from Chiang Mai city centre to Pai, I do recommend this route. Because if you get hungry or want to chill out, it is quite easy to find something to eat and take a rest on the way. You can also find a number of tourist attractions on this route. For example, Tad mok waterfall, Pa Pae hot spring, Huay Nam Dung National Park (great place to stay overnight under beautiful stars), Pai city centre etc. This route has more curves and steeper than second option. And, from Pai to Wat Chan, it is about 50 km of pure nature.

2. Chiang Mai city centre – Samoeng (via Mae rim or Hang dong) – Wat Chan (Samoeng route)
From Chiang Mai city centre to Samoeng, there is also a number of tourist attractions and places to eat. For example Mae Sa elephant camp, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mon Chaem, strawberry farm etc. via Mae Rim or Hom Rak bridge to Wat Ban Pong / Phra That Sri Muang Pong etc. via Hang dong. But this will be only the first 50 km from Chiang Mai city centre. You still have about 100 km on the mountain ranges with pure nature. For the nature lover, I do recommend this route. There are also tourist attractions on the way from Samoeng to Wat Chan. For example, Khun Khan National Park, Tham Luang Mae Sap Cave, Wat Phra That Doi Nok etc.

However, in order to gain the experience from both route. You can complete the loop: Chiang mai city centre – Mae rim – Mae Taeng – Pai – Wat Chan (Stay over night) – Samoeng – Chiang mai city centre (via Mae rim or Hang dong) and vice versa. But you will have less time to visit interesting places on each route.

For me, I would complete the loop: Chiang Mai city centre – Mae rim – Mae Taeng – Pai – Wat Chan – Samoeng – Mae rim – Chiang Mai city centre. The first day we would start in the morning from Chiang Mai city centre. Then, we would have coffee and lunch on the way to Pai and stop at Wat Chan in the evening. The next day, we would stay in Wat Chan until lunch time, find something to eat (which is quite hard in the rural area of Wat Chan) then we would be back to Mae Rim via Samoeng. After that, we would finish at Chaing Mai city centre by evening.

Actually, which way is suitable for you depends on your main travel plan.

29 Dec 2017

We started from Bangkok in the morning and we arrived at Chiang Mai in the evening. No special activity this day but enjoy the Northern Thai restaurant “Huean Soontaree” with traditional folk song, one of a good warm welcome place. This night, we stayed at “Chiang Mai Orchid resort”.

30 Dec 2017

We started from Chiang Mai in the morning and had breakfast at “Yen Ta Fo Sri Phing” near Chang Phueak gate. After that, we headed up north via 107 route to Mae Taeng. Our first destination is “Wat Ban Den (วัดบ้านเด่นสะหรีศรีเมืองแกน)”. This temple has large area with a number of Lanna architectural buildings. Every details were elaborately designed and created.

We spent time here not so long since there was still long way to go. We headed back to Mae Ma Lai junction and turned to “Mae Ma Lai – Pai road (1095 route)”. We then got closer to the nature. As it was lunch time, we took a break at “Pankled coffee shop”. After that, we went up the mountain, it took for a while before stopping at second coffee shop named “Road view coffee shop”. Then, it’s time to have fun with road curves. There is a big number of curves before we landed at Pai district as you can see in Google Maps. But we will skip Pai city centre as we did not have enough time. We would go directly to Wat Chan. After you have been down the mountain, you just turn left to “1265 route” instead of going straight ahead to Pai city centre.

On 1265 route, we would be in the pure nature literally. And there was one thing that could make us stop is the tiny hot spring beside the road! This place is called “Ban Muang Rae Hot Spring (น้ำพุร้อนบ้านเหมืองแร่)”.

There was only one shop near the hot spring. You can buy eggs so as to boil it in the hot spring by putting them in the basket and you just hook it with wooden rod and soak the basket in the hot spring. There was also boiling time instruction to cook the egg style that you wish.

Then, we continued our journey to “Wat Chan” (วัดจันทร์). Let’s me give you more details about “Wat Chan”. Actually, “Wat Chan” is the name for temple but in this context, Wat Chan stands for the part of area in “Kanlayaniwattana district” (อำเภอ กัลยาณิวัฒนา) which is the new governing district that has been separated from “Mae Chaem district” of Chaing Mai province. So, “Wat Chan Pine Forest” (ป่าสนวัดจันทร์) in this context refers to pine forest in the part of “Kanlayaniwattana district” or you could say former name “Wat Chan” which is much easier. Most of the population here are hill tribe.

One sign you will notice that you enter to “Wat Chan” is the forest beside the road turns into pine forest. (Scientific name: Pinus kesiya (สนสามใบ) and Pinus merkusii (สนสองใบ))

Landscape around here was so wonderful. I was excited.

And the place that we were going to stay over night is “Forest Industry Organisation (FIO) – Wat Chan Royal Project” (โครงการหลวงบ้านวัดจันทร์ อ.อ.ป.).

For more information, please see http://www.fio.co.th/travel/watchan/ (website is in Thai)

However, I made a little guideline for you about reservation process. You may need google translate for additional help.

1. Go to tab “ที่พัก”

2. Each room types will be shown (and will be more in the near future). I have also put the word in English for you. Then, you can click the picture of room type you are interested.

3. In this example, I chose “Son Khao 2 persons”. You could see the description down below (which you can put that in google translate). The price will be shown in this page also.

4. After you know the information, next step is to call FIO – Wat Chan (Chiang Mai headquarter) Tel. +66 53-249349 for room reservation, you may ask additional information as well in case on the website is not up-to-date. (I am not sure whether staff can speak English.) If you will go during holiday, please make a reservation in advance. If you need dinner and breakfast, you should tell them in advance.

5. After the reservation have been made, it’s time for banking process. Go to tab “แจ้งโอน”.

Just transfer the accommodation fee (excluding meal cost) to the account shown in the website. (Following account might be changed, please check in the website.)

(You may need some help from google as well in order to know which bank is.)

6. After finished the banking process, please keep the evidence and send a copy to the email ( fio_econ@hotmail.com ) shown in the website (“แจ้งโอน” tab). Again please check the correct email in website, in case it changes.

Now, you finish the reservation process. For the meal cost, you can pay it at the day you check out from FIO – Wat Chan.

Hope this helps more or less 🙂

Everyone who comes to Wat Chan must not miss this place and you will know why in a few seconds.

This place has beautiful accommodation in the pine forest and nice landscape of reservoir surrounded by large pine forest like “Pang Oung” (ปางอุ๋ง) in Mae Hong Son.

I have booked in advance for about half year before I came since we went there in new year holiday. Because there is not so many villas to stay in this place. But it will have more very soon.

This is the office. We got our villas’ keys here.

These were our villas called “Chang Khao” (บ้านฉางข้าว). This is where you can buy snacks, coffee and instant noodles.

There is also souvenir shop, lovely!

It was literally a great place to wander around and feel the nature.

We had also booked dinner here which is needed to book in advance. They will arrange for us. Plus, it is buffet! It is quite advance to find big restaurant to eat in Wat Chan city centre…or I should say “Wat Chan village”.

Tonight, there will be the show from “Karen (ปกาเกอะญอ) – Hill tribe”. Very cute and so traditional.

It got colder and colder. Then, we walked back to our villas to take a rest. We had an appointment with “Huay Chan Reservoir (Huay Or)” (อ่างเก็บน้ำห้วยจันทร์ (ห้วยอ้อ)) the next morning.

31 Dec 2017

Not more than 15 minutes walk from our villas to the reservoir, we could have spectacular view of pine forest.

The sun had shone its warm light to cloudy sky.

Misty pine forest. You could walk around the reservoir to see the different view.
Unfortunately, there was not much fog on the water so the view had less mystical feeling. However, it’s still wonderful anyway. I really loved this place.

Pine cone… Just said to myself “I will come back here again.”

Time flew so fast. Sunlight shone through top of pine trees in a little bit foggy atmosphere…

It was time to have breakfast, so we walked to cafeteria passing through pine forest.

After we finished up our breakfast, it’s time for walking to maple trees near our villas and taking some pictures that we were waiting for!

Maple trees in contrast to pine forest in the background.

And then, the time that we did not want had come. We should leave “Forest Industry Organisation (FIO) – Wat Chan Royal Project” and go to our next destination because we still had a long way to go.

Our next stop was not far from “FIO – Wat Chan”, There is “Wat Chan Temple”.
Why we had to come this far to visit the t
l town of Wat Chan… This is because Wat Chan Temple has its unique characteristic. In front of the temple has been cut out by “Karen craftsman” with an intention of making holes look like eyes to let the sunlight shine inside the temple but it is far more like glasses. To prevent robbery, the glass has been installed to the hole. So, people called “Ray-Ban Temple”.

Kanlayaniwattana city centre is absolutely rural area and far away from nearest town like Pai and Samoeng which are said to be far away from the big city like Chiang Mai. There is no 7-Eleven here that seems to be found almost everywhere in Thailand. There is only local small shops and restaurants.

This seems to be the biggest coffee shop in city centre.

Just my opinion, I think “Kanlayaniwattana” or “Wat Chan” has potential to be famous tourist city because this area is very rich of nature with large area of pine forest which is the main characteristic here. Many houses in the city centre are still made of wood. If there is an appropriate investment with suitable management and policy to civilise the city centre in the traditional way as well as preserve the nature, this would be one of the dream town.

Let’s move to our next stop which is not far from city centre. This place is “Wat Chan Royal Project (ศูนย์พัฒนาโครงการหลวงวัดจันทร์)” – Not to be confused with “FIO – Wat Chan”. You can find argricultural demonstration of each plants for the locals here.

Old pine trees inside “Wat Chan Royal Project”

After that, we had simple noodles (Ko Deng-Ho Deng) in city centre for our lunch.
Before leaving Wat Chan, we will visit “Phra Tha
or “Ko Pho Lhu” to see the great view of “Ban Wat Chan”. This place is on the way to Samoeng not far from Wat Chan city centre.

Now, you know how Wat Chan city centre looks like.

Lovely small little pine trees.

Then, we were heading to Samoeng via 1349 route passing through large pine forest.
Great scenery can be found along the way.

It was raining so I’ve got the pictures like in rainy season.

This is the view point where you could buy some strawberries here.
Strawberry farm is popular for the locals around this region.
You can find it along the way to Samoeng or even Mae Rim.

We were just passing by Samoeng since we had not much time left.
Before we went down the mountain to Mae Rim city, we turned to “Mon Chaem” route to find coffee shop to take some rest. We stopped at “Ban Mon Muan” which is the accommodation and coffee shop that you can order main dishes also. The view was great.

Finally, we arrived at Chiang Mai city centre in the evening and prepared for countdown to Y2018.

Chiang Mai not only has beautiful nature but Chiang Mai also has beautiful tradition, culture and architecture.

Next post, I will take you a little tour to Lanna temple architecture and tradition until the end of this trip. See ya!