Pong Deuat Pa Pae

Pong Deuat Pa Pae is a geyser field inside Huai Nam Dang National Park, about 70 km from Chiang Mai on Route 1095 toward Pai. Entry costs the park’s standard fee — 300 THB for a foreign adult, 150 THB for a foreign child, around 40 THB for a Thai adult — and the same-day ticket typically also covers Tha Pai Hot Spring elsewhere in the park. Open daily 08:00 to 17:00.

From the parking area, an 800-metre walk — mostly boardwalk through forest — leads to the geyser field itself, where boiling water erupts from vents in the rock up to 2 metres high. That source water is genuinely close to boiling, so the vents are fenced for viewing rather than bathing; this is the part of the site that earns the “geyser” name rather than just “hot spring.”

The actual soaking happens back near the parking area, where managed pools hold the water at a safer 38-45C. Concrete pool edges, a couple of viewing decks, and a small visitor centre make up the rest of the facilities — basic, but enough to change and rinse off. Thai day-trippers use these pools as much as foreign visitors, especially on weekends.

Insider Tip: Visit before 9am if you can — the forest walk to the geyser field is noticeably cooler in early morning, and it’s before the tour vans doing the Pai loop (Pai Canyon, Tha Pai Hot Spring, then here) start arriving in numbers.

Watch out: Stay behind the railings and boardwalk at the geyser vents themselves — the water there is hot enough to scald, and it’s not a swimming spot.

There’s no direct public transport; most visitors arrive by rented motorbike or car, or as a stop on a Pai day-loop tour. Bring a towel, a change of clothes, and modest swimwear — this isn’t a resort spa, and waterproof sandals help on the sometimes slippery ground around the soaking pools. Pair the visit with Huai Nam Dang National Park’s viewpoints on the same park ticket if you have the extra hour.