Mae Hong Son Loop

The Mae Hong Son Loop is a 600-kilometre circuit route through the mountainous border region of northern Thailand, connecting Chiang Mai, Pai, Mae Hong Son, and Mae Sariang before returning to Chiang Mai — completed as a loop via Highway 108. The route is most frequently ridden by motorcycle but is also driven by car, cycled in sections by touring cyclists, or covered in portions by public bus. The landscape along the loop is among the most dramatic in Thailand: the road between Chiang Mai and Pai alone contains more than 762 curves over 130 kilometres; the Doi Mae Yor section between Pai and Mae Hong Son crosses mountain ridges with viewpoints over terraced rice fields, cloud-capped peaks, and valley mist at dawn. Mae Hong Son town itself sits in a valley at 684 metres and is one of Thailand's remotest provincial capitals, sharing its character more with the Shan States of Myanmar than with central Thailand — Buddhist temples here follow Burmese architectural traditions, and a significant Karen and Shan population gives the markets and festivals a cross-border character. Key stops along the loop include Pai — a small bohemian town known for cafés, hot springs, night markets, and Pai Canyon viewpoint; Mae Surin waterfall (a 100-metre two-tier cascade, seasonal); Pang Ung (the Switzerland of Thailand) — a dawn mist lake surrounded by pine forest; and the market town of Mae Sariang near the Salween River on the return leg. The full loop takes 3 to 5 days by motorcycle with overnight stops.