Rai Mae Fah Luang
Located in Chiang Rai, Thailand, Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park has been for years a must-see destination to tourists from all over the world, due to its beautiful landscapes and large collections of valuable artifacts.
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, also known as Rai Mae Fah Luang, lies about 4km to the West of the center of Chiang Rai (a city in northern Thailand). The park itself houses a huge museum that has preserved and displayed one of the biggest collections of Lanna artifacts, also, features a large garden with plenty of antique and contemporary art, Buddhist temples, and other structures. All of them create a massive, meticulously landscaped compound that makes anyone extremely surprised at for the very first time coming here.
On visiting Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, you can not only enjoy the stunning landscapes but also learn more about Thailand's art and cultural history of Lanna Kingdom through the valuable artifacts, which could bring to you an unforgettable experience in your vacation.
Rai Mae Fah Luang
History of Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park
As one of the most famous historical spots in Thailand, Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park possesses a long-standing history that dates back to the Lanna Kingdom.
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park was established in 1977. At first, it started from a part of the project run by the late Princess Mother – Mae Fah Luang to develop Doi Tung (a mountainous area in Thai highland where the ethnic minorities settle), hence its original name - Rai Mae Fah Luang. Before that, Rai Mae Fah Luang was just an office of the Thai Hill Crafts Foundation, which helped preserve the traditional skills and support the livelihoods of ethnic minorities. Thanks to purchasing and marketing, the foundation achieved great success and gradually, after having skills, the ethnic communication has shared responsibilities, and cared for the younger, thus gave them accessibility to schools, which has proven the role of Mae Fah Luang in education, along with spreading her belief in acquiring skills from actual experiences.
Today, Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park possesses the region's largest collection of art items from Lanna culture or Tai Culture to commemorate the late Princess Mother and manifest the richness in Thailand art and cultural history.
Things to do in Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park has been for ages a place of art and culture; therefore, most of the activities offered here are about admiring and researching.
- Visit Haw Kham:
On coming to Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, walk over a lovely peaceful pond, you will reach Haw Kham, the golden teakwood pavilion. Years ago, it was built by the people as a gift to the Late Mother Princess and as a place where the royalty lived. Now, Haw Kham has been turned into a place of preserving and displaying the collection of art and antiquities which was made from teakwood. While visiting the pavilion, you may feel the deep love plus gratitude towards the Mother Princess and also admire the old artistic architecture of Thais.
Haw Kham
- Explore Thai art and cultural history in Haw Kaew:
Among the must-see parts in Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park, Haw Kaew can be the most recommended, as it is the museum that presents a permanent exhibition of teak artifacts and religious items, along with many revolving ones featuring topics related to the diverse ethnic culture of Lanna. On coming here for the first time, you will see the portrait of the Princess Mother which is proof of the Northern people's love for this great woman. In addition, there are a lot of collections of art (Buddhist or contemporary art) displayed for you to appreciate and through them, you can get to know more about the country's culture.
Haw Kaew Museum
- Enjoy the natural beauty at Mae Fah Luang Garden:
Besides the art and cultural values, Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park also features a stunning Mae Fah Luang Garden for tourists to immerse in the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful landscape during their trip to the park. Visiting Mae Fah Luang Garden, you will be surprised by the amazing beauty of different flowers that are in bloom all year round, and the spectacular art sculptures in the middle created by the famous artist Misiem Yip-In-Soi.
Mae Fah Luang Garden
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park is open for tourists to come from 8 am to 7 pm every day, so you can decide to pay a visit to it anytime during the week. However, the park seems to be a bit crowded on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday; it would be the best to visit Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park at 1 pm or 2 pm on the other days and spend about 2 hours visiting the park so that you can thoroughly enjoy your vacation without any disturbance.
How to get to Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park
From your place, you can get to Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park in several ways each of which can satisfy a particular demand. Therefore; think twice and choose the one that perfectly fits the bill.
The most common way is to get to Rai Mae Fah Luang by car; you can either grab a taxi from your place to get to the province of Chiang Rai and get to Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park or for a more comfortable trip, hire a car and drive it yourself to get to Rai Mae Fah Luang. Alternatively, you can also take a flight, then, travel in a taxi from the airport. Trains or Buses are also available for you to get to Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park. The cost of the trip depends on where you are staying.
Mae Fah Luang Art & Cultural Park can be an ideal place for everyone to come and spend their vacation. If you have a plan to visit the park, join us in the Rai Mae Fah Luang Tour.
