Fang City in Chiang Mai Province - how to get there, what to see, where to stay

General information about Fang and why you have to come here

Fang or Fang is a small town almost in the far north of Chiang Mai Province near the border with Burma (Fang on the map). But this is not a border town, there is no border crossing to Burma here. It is located 150 kilometers from the provincial capital of Chiang Mai on Highway 107, leading from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai along the border through Chiang Tao, Taton and, accordingly, Fang itself. This road is not the main one connecting the capitals of the two provinces, and if you just need to get from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai or back as quickly as possible, it is better not to go along it. But if you are traveling and want to see little-known places for tourists, then Fang will be a suitable place to stop for rest and overnight along the way.

We also visited Feng passing through, and to be honest, I can not unequivocally recommend it as a place where it is necessary and special to come. But you will not be able to pass it while traveling along this route, since the city is located directly along the way, and besides, there is at least some infrastructure and a dozen hotels and guest houses.

We didn't find anything special here, except for a couple of typical temples and parks in architecture. Near Phang, along the border with Burma, there is a large national park Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park, where there are hot springs, an observation point at the top of the mountain and several hiking trails. But visiting the park costs 300 baht for foreigners (approximately 9.2 USD), plus another 100 baht for hot springs. Considering that in these parts you can swim in hot springs for free at all ( see free hot springs in Chiang Mai), or visit equipped springs from only 50 baht per person, it's quite expensive. Perhaps nature lovers will find something special in this park, besides, you can spend the night in a campsite-type accommodation, but we decided to skip this place. But it's up to you to decide, of course.

Not far from Fang there is Pong Nam Dang National Park, famous for a beautiful waterfall with a place for swimming and several observation points overlooking the mountains. Admission is free.

The city of Fang itself is quite developed by the standards of these places. It seemed to us even more developed than the Taton, which is popular with tourists. There are several markets, Lotus supermarkets, 7-eleven, banks and ATMs. But there is practically no tourist infrastructure here: there are no travel agencies, there is no rental of transport. In general, there is nothing but accommodation, and indeed in the whole city you may very likely be the only foreign tourists.

You can find and book accommodation in Fung on these reliable and trusted sites. All sites have a Russian interface and Russian-language support for travelers, reviews of real guests.

• 🛌 Search for hotels in Fang on Trip.com (👍 this is the best option, Mir cards work)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Fang on Yandex.travel
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Fang on Ostrovok.ru

How to get to Fang

As we have already mentioned above, Fang is located on the north road No. 107 along the border between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It is 150 kilometers from Chiang Mai and about 130 kilometers from Chiang Rai. There are minibuses and small buses from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai (100 baht) and Taton (50 baht), and you can also take a passing bus here to Chiang Tao. All buses run from about 5 am to 5 pm every hour, but the schedule may change, you will have to check it on the spot at bus stations. Please note that buses depart from Chiang Mai to Fung not from the main Arcade Bus Station, but from Chang Phuak bus and minivan bus stations.

The only long-distance bus route goes to Phang from Bangkok. These are Somba Tour and Budsarakham Tour buses. Depart from Bangkok in the evening around 19 o'clock, arrive in the morning. The cost starts from 800 baht. You can check the schedule and book tickets online at 12go.asia

However, if you have the opportunity to rent a transport, we recommend that you get here this way. You can rent a motorbike or a car in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Motorbikes are rented there from 250 baht per day, a car can be found for 1000 baht and even cheaper. By rented transport, you can travel around the ring on the route Chiang Mai-Chaingdao-Feng-Taton-Chiang Rai and return back to the starting point. Such a trip will take from 3 to 6 days with overnight stays and acquaintance with the sights along the route, and there is something to see here.