Mae Hong Son is the most mountainous province in Thailand and the least populated. It sits in a narrow valley along the Thai-Myanmar border, and it has the feel of a town that grew around a handful of trade routes rather than a planned city.

Community and culture

The province is home to Shan, Karen, Hmong, Lahu and Iu Mien communities who have lived here for generations. They are not relics of a past: they run schools, cooperatives, weavers and coffee farms, and they hold their own festivals and religious practice alongside the Thai Buddhist temples that line the town. Wat Phrathat Doi Kong Mu, on the ridge above the city, shows the Shan Buddhist influence clearly, and the twin lakes below it are the town's front door.

Nature and landscape

Doi Mon Chong is the viewpoint everyone comes for, and Pha Cha waterfall is the reason people stay. Beyond that the valley opens into national parks with dense teak and pine, and the air is cool enough for longan, coffee and strawberries in season.