Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden

Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden sits in the hills above Mae Rim, a working plant-research station that doubles as Chiang Mai’s most polished garden attraction. Entry costs 100 THB for foreign adults (50 THB for children) and 40 THB for Thai adults (20 THB for children); visitors over 60, monks, and novices get in free. The garden is open daily 08:30-17:00.

The signature feature is the canopy walkway — a steel walkway roughly 400 metres long, suspended about 20 metres above the forest floor, and generally cited as the longest of its kind in the country. It’s included in the standard admission ticket, no extra charge. At the top of the hill, a cluster of glasshouses recreates different climate zones under glass: humid rainforest chambers thick with ferns and orchids sit a short walk from a dry desert house of cacti and succulents, the temperature shift noticeable as you move between them. Outdoor sections spread across the surrounding slopes group plants by family and habitat — palms, bamboo groves, a rock garden — connected by paved paths that climb steadily uphill.

Insider Tip: The garden’s spread across a hillside big enough that walking the whole route on foot is a real hike. If you didn’t drive in, the internal tram (about 30 THB for adults, 10 THB for children) covers the distance between the entrance, the glasshouse hilltop, and the canopy walkway car park — worth it if you want energy left for the walkway itself.

Weekday mornings are noticeably quieter than weekends, when Chiang Mai families and tour groups fill the glasshouse car park by mid-morning. Because the site sits at elevation in the hills west of the city, temperatures run a few degrees cooler than central Chiang Mai — a useful break during the hot season, though the rainy season (roughly June-October) brings the fastest-changing weather and afternoon downpours are common.

Watch out: There’s no public bus route that runs directly to the garden gate. A rental car, motorbike, or taxi arranged from Mae Rim or Chiang Mai is the practical way in — factor that into the day’s cost if you don’t already have your own transport.

Pair a visit with two other Mae Rim stops: Mae Sa Waterfall a short drive further up the valley, or the Orchid Garden and Butterfly Farm on the way back toward the city.