Hot Springs
The parkโs main highlight is its hot springs, located in a large rocky area near the visitor center and main parking lot.
The water emerging from the surface is too hot for bathing, so visitors often bring eggs to boil in the springs.
Eggs are placed in bamboo baskets and lowered into the ponds with a stick.
Further down, where the hot springs meet a river, it’s a great spot for bathing.
Onsen
Another option is the onsen huts near the hot springs. These private huts offer mineral baths in tubs filled with 40ยฐC water directly from the springs.
Theyโre available daily from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM for just 50 THB per person.
๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ: ๐๐ต๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ด ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐น๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ :).
The next day, we visited the hot springs at dawn on our way to Chae Son Waterfall to capture the classic images of steam rising from the hot springs in the cool mountain air.
Chaeson Waterfall
The park’s second most popular attraction is a six-tiered waterfall, about 1.5 km by the road from the visitor center.
There is also a nature trail that leads from the hot springs along the river to the waterfall. The total length of the trail along the river and the stairs along the waterfalls to the hydroelectric power plant is about 2 kilometers. No guides or rangers are needed for this trail.
From there, another more challenging nature trail leads upstream to another waterfall, Mae Piak; this route is 4 kilometers long and takes about 2.5 hours to complete, requiring permission from park rangers. We plan to explore this trail on our next visit!
Getting There
From Chiang Mai
There are two roads from Chiang Mai to Chae Son National Park. While the Chiang Mai side of these mountains is well-known tourist destination with numerous guesthouses, homestays, cafes, hiking trails (perhaps the highest density of hiking trails in all of Thailand), and ziplines, the Lampang side is less developed and sees far fewer tourists, as it requires traversing mountain roads from Chiang Mai.
The shorter but steeper and narrower route passes through Mae Kampong village and Kew Fin Viewpoint. Five years ago, my husband and I took this route on a large motorcycle, and some of the inclines were so steep that I had to dismount to prevent the bike from tipping over. When I called the park this time, a staff member told me that this road was still impassable for cars. However, we did meet some locals at the park who claimed they drove a minivan through it. If you take this route, please share your experience (and photos) in the comments!
The other road is longer but well-maintained. We drove this route by car, stopping at Stone Cliff Viewpoint, Lychee Viewpoint, and a cafรฉ overlooking Doi Langka.
From Lampang
For those relying on public transport, songthaews (trucks with seats in the back) operate from Lampang between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. They depart from a small side street off Talad Gao Road on the south side of the Wang River. The journey takes about 1.5โ2 hours.
Entrance Fees
For Thai nationals, the entrance fee is 40 baht for adults and 20 baht for children. For foreigners, it’s 200 baht for adults and 100 baht for children. There’s also a vehicle fee: 30 baht for four-wheel cars, 20 baht for motorcycles, and 10 baht for bicycles.
Accommodations
The entrance fee is more than compensated by the incredibly low cost of excellent bungalows! About 500 meters past the checkpoint, turn left at the โBungalowโ sign and follow the road uphill to the accommodation office. They offer several bungalow options for different numbers of guests, averaging about 300 baht per person on weekends and holidays, and 200 baht on weekdays.
We arrived on a Saturday and stayed in a spacious three-person bungalow with mountain views for just 900 THB per night. On a weekday, this bungalow would cost 600 baht!
Check-in is at 12:00 PM, and checkout is by 11:00 AM. While most bungalows were vacant when we arrived, they filled up by evening. Itโs a good idea to book in advance via the phone number on the signage (though the staff donโt speak Englishโask a Thai friend for help).
Food
Near the visitor center and parking area, there are several typical Thai eateries, which close by 6:00 PM. You can purchase meals here or bring food to store in your bungalowโs refrigerator. Cooking and alcohol consumption are prohibited in the park. However, we did notice some neighbors enjoying a quiet evening beer on their veranda.
It is also a perfect spot to stay overnight when traveling from Chiang Mai to the Sky Pagodas (Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat).
