Phrae Things to Do

Phrae has a great national park and a forest park which will definitely add some flavour to your heavy-templed city sightseeing program. Not far from Phrae there is an interesting homestay initiative which offer glimpses into daily lives of local farmers.

Doi Pha Klong National Park

An interesting national park close to town, Doi Pha Klong has the advantage of being connected to Phrae with public transportation (a blue songthaew from Chomphu Ming market) making it a perfect and cheap daytrip when you get bored of temples and ancient buildings.

Covering a mountainous area filled with forests, streams and waterfalls, it is the natural habitat for bears, deer, civet cats, wild boars and several species of birds. Many of the main attractions are located close to the visitor centre which is on route 1023, 20 km west of town.

Phukhao Hin Pakarang (the coral mountain) is a sort of natural tunnel formed by wind erosion where you can walk through rock formations that vaguely reminded us of underwater corals. The highlight for local tourists is when a cool breeze starts blowing in and everyone can enjoy free natural air-con.

Suan Hin Maharat (the rock garden) features a number of massive rocks of different shapes that over the centuries have been incorporated in the growing forest creating a quite scenic effect.

Tham Erawan is a beautiful cave that will need a bit of an effort to be visited since it’s 200 m up on the mountain but it’s definitely worth a visit; a couple of km from the cave two hill tribe villages will give you the chance to get closer to Lisu and Akha ancient cultures and traditions.

Accommodation, restaurants and shops are available close to the visitor centre, which is where the songthaew will drop you off. If you want to rent a motorbike, it’s an easy half an hour drive from town. The park is open every day and admission fee is THB100 (THB50 for kids).

Phae Muang Phi Forest Park

Even if the nickname of Grand Canyon of Thailand could be slightly deceiving, this small attraction is another quick ride from town which is worth to be visited. Millions of years of water erosion made a pretty good job shaping rocks in various ways and an old legend gives to this place an extra touch of mystery and supernatural feel that makes it a popular destination for Thai visitors. The story tells us about a lady who was wandering the area searching for bamboo and got lost in the woods where she found silver and gold; unable to carry it out of the forest because, protected by some spirit, the metals got heavier and heavier, she left everything there in order to search for help. When more people came to the place later, they could find nothing but footprints that would mysteriously and suddenly disappear; since then the area is believed to be inhabited by ghosts and this is how it got its name from (forest city of ghosts).

Avisit there will take you no more than half an hour and there’s no entrance fee. To get there drive north from the bus station on route 101 for roughly 10 km where you have to turn right (follow the signs). If you don’t have your transportation you can hire a songthaew for a few hours; it shouldn’t charge you more than THB500.

Ban Na Tong

Ban Na Tong is a small agricultural village 30 km away from Phrae where the villagers initiated a homestay program that could be appealing to anyone interested in ecotourism. Besides learning about the traditional life in the village, Ban Na Tong is also the natural habitat of the Siamese Big-headed turtle, a highly endangered species of turtle with a peculiar long tail. Caves and waterfalls can also be visited nearby. The village is next to impossible to access during the rainy season. If you want to organize a trip there the only way to do it at the moment of writing is via Ban Na Tong Ecotourism Club (0545290601). The price for one night is THB360.