Mae Jam Forest Garden

Mae Jam Forest Garden is a 6,932-rai teak plantation run by Thailand’s Forest Industry Organisation (FIO) in Mae Chaem district, about 123 km southwest of Chiang Mai city. Entry to the grounds is free, and FIO rents out a handful of simple bungalows for anyone who wants to stay the night among the trees.

The plantation sits at roughly 760 metres, which keeps the air several degrees cooler than the valley floor around Chiang Mai city — FIO puts the year-round average here at about 25C. Rows of teak stand alongside patches of natural forest, and the Mae Chaem stream cuts through the property, giving the place a working-forest character rather than a manicured botanical garden. FIO staff use parts of the land for silviculture research as much as for visitors, so don’t expect labelled nature trails or interpretive signage — this is a plantation you walk through on forest tracks, not a curated park with information boards.

Cool-season mornings, from November to February, are the best time to visit, when mist often sits over the teak rows before burning off by mid-morning. Rainy season, June to October, turns the tracks to mud but keeps the plantation green and the Mae Chaem stream running full. Mae Chaem town, the nearest place with shops and restaurants, sits a short drive away — the plantation itself has no cafe or store, so bring water and snacks.

Insider Tip: FIO’s bungalows fill up fast around Thai long weekends — book through FIO’s own accommodation system well ahead rather than turning up on spec.

Watch out: the drive in from Chiang Mai city runs 3-4 hours on mountain roads through Hot or Mae Sariang district. This isn’t a half-day trip, and mobile signal thins out well before you reach the plantation.

Getting there means driving to Mae Chaem town first, then following FIO signage into the plantation grounds — there’s no public transport option, so car or motorbike is the only practical way in.

Nearby in the same district, Wat Pa Dad and the Mae Chon Luang Agricultural Experiment Station make reasonable stops on the same trip out from Mae Chaem town.