Pai is a small town located in the Northern region of Thailand, around 3 hours drive from Chiang Mai. Pai is known for its beautiful mountain landscape and laid back atmosphere, attracting lots of backpackers and digital nomads.
In this article, I will cover the top things to do and see in Pai. These include attractions such as the Walking Street, famous viewpoints, temples, waterfalls, caves, and ethnic villages. You can try activities such as sightseeing, hiking, bar/ cafe hopping, river tipsy tubing, and enjoy the nightlife.
Pai city center is a small area, and is home to the Walking Street and the Night Market. You can find all tourist amenities in the town center, including hotels, tour agencies, bars, restaurants, cafes, and shops.
Pai River is located right next to the town center and is a great place to relax with many cafes and restaurants along the river. You can explore its bamboo bridges, and enjoy river activities such as bamboo rafting, kayaking, or tipsy tubing.
Outside of the walking street, you can visit the famous canyon at sunset, hike to Mae Yen Waterfall, take a walk on Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge. There are cultural attractions such as the White Buddha or the Chinese Village.
Pai has mountainous terrain, and you will have nice views of the mountain and valleys at many places such as Yun Lai Viewpoint, Pai Canyon, I am PAI sign, Bamboo Bridge, and at the White Buddha.
The city has lots of trendy and hip cafes and restaurants. You can enjoy local dishes and drinks while enjoying the beautiful surroundings and peaceful atmosphere. Some popular places are Two Sisters, Two Huts, and Om Garden Cafe.
You can easily explore popular attractions and top activities in Pai by walking, renting a scooter, and taking a tour. If you need to know how to get around and how to make a perfect itinerary in Pai, you can read these articles:
15 Best Things to Do and See in Pai
#1. Pai Walking Street and Night Market
Pai Walking Street is the bustling heart of Pai. It is around 1 km long section of Chai Songkhram Road. The busiest section of this street is probably the area between the Pai River and Nong Beer Restaurant. It is packed with restaurants, bars, cafes, guest house, and souvenir shops.
The Walking street is more lively from late afternoon to midnight when all the stalls are set out to the two sides of the street. You can find all Thai and international Street food here such as pad Thai, Khao Soi, rice noodle salad, mango sticky rice, dumpling…
If you want to buy some souvenirs, there are lots of handicrafts products as well as t-shirts with nice quotes. There are also many shops selling fashion and beautiful clothes and dresses too. Be sure to bargain when purchasing anything from the night market.
You can watch local cultural performances at the intersection of the Chai Songkhram Road and Yangsiyanon Road. Be sure to check out small alleys from the walking street, which are also lined with reggae bars, weed shops, massage shops, and restaurants.
#2. Wat Phra That Mae Yen (The White Buddha)
Wat Phra That Mae Yen is a popular cultural attraction in Pai. The temple is home to a huge Buddha statue and has stunning views of the surroundings. It is located around 10 minutes drive from the south east of Pai Walking Street.
I visited the White Buddha as a part of the half day sightseeing tour around Pai. You can reach the temple by renting a bicycle and hiring a private taxi. The temple is open every day and it is free to enter.
To reach the top, you need to climb a 350 steps staircase. It is just a few minutes hike but can be very tiring on a hot day. I visited the temple midday and I stopped many times when climbing the stairs to reach the top.
At the top, you will see the huge white seated Buddha and a large area that has stunning views of the mountains and valleys. I recommend spending around 30 minutes at Wat Phra That Mae Yen.
If your clothes do not cover your knees and shoulders, you can rent sarong at the stand near the parking area for 20 baht. You can visit the temple at any time of the day, but it is especially beautiful to visit at sunset.
#3. Take a walk on Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge
Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge is a 800 long bamboo bridge, located 30 minutes drive southwest of Pai Walking Street. It is very close to Pam Bok Waterfall. The bridge winds through lush rice paddies, and has beautiful mountain views. It is open everyday and the ticket is 30 baht.
There is a nice cafe at the entrance of the bridge where you can order food and drink and enjoy the stunning views.
I recommend spending at least two hours exploring the bridge, the temple at the end, watching the locals working on the farm, and taking photos. I took guided tours and they allowed around 1 hour to explore.
Within one hour, I took a quick walk to the end of the bridge near the temple and walked back. These times include some stops along the way to take photos and enjoy the views. I visited Pai late November early December, the rice fields were harvested and saw some local families cutting the yellow rice.
See more: Visit Kho Ku So Bamboo Bridge in Pai
#4. Yun Lai Viewpoint
Yun Lai Viewpoint is a popular attraction in Pai, located close to the Chianese Village and is 15 minutes drive west of Pai Walking Street. It has sweeping views of Pai’s mountains and valleys. The entrance fee is 20 baths.
There are toilets, cafes, souvenir shops, and a camping ground at the viewpoint. If you don’t sitting at the cafe, it probably takes 20 minutes to walk around and take photos. It is nicely decorated with Chinese architecture and red lanterns.
#5. Santichon Chinese Village
Santichon Chinese Village is a tourist site located just a few minutes drive from Yun Lai Viewpoint. It has a Chinese theme with a Chinese gate, thick walls, and lots of nice spots to take photos.
You can rent traditional Chinese customs here to take photos or just simply wander around. There are shops selling food, souvenirs, and games such as archery and BB guns. I think 20-30 minutes is good enough for just having a quick look around.
#6. Pam Bok Waterfall
Pam Bok Waterfall is one of the many waterfalls around Pai. It is located 20 minutes drive southwest of Pai Walking street and easily accessible by motorbike rental, guided tour, and taxi.
It is a small waterfall and is just a short walk from the ticket counter area. It is open everyday and the ticket is 100 baht per person. It is a peaceful place to relax and also Instagram worthy.
You can spend around 30 minutes at the waterfall chilling and taking photos. When I visited early December, the waterfall still had lots of water. I didn’t see anyone swimming here.
#7. Hike to Mae Yen Waterfall
Mae Yen Waterfall is my favorite waterfall in Pai. It is a lesser-known waterfall and is only reachable by 2-3 hours of hiking through the jungle and crossing the river. It took me 3 hours to walk all the way from my hotel in Pai Walking Street to Mae Yen Waterfall. The way back is quicker.
The waterfall is free to enter and open everyday. Just be mindful that if you are visiting in the rainy and flooding season, you should avoid taking this hike. It is very dangerous crossing the river with strong steam and high levels of water.
The trail through the jungle is very peaceful with some flat path at the beginning and a steep final section near the waterfall.
If you want to hike to Mae Yen Waterfall make sure to have enough time to explore the waterfall. I recommend spending at least 5-6 hours for the trip, go early and avoid coming back in the dark.
See more: My detail guide to Mae Yen Waterfall
#8. I am PAI sign
This is a popular photo spot located 3 km south of Pai Walking Street. You can take photos and tell your friend that you are in Pai. This sign is located right on the main road, and you can have a quick stop for a photo.
We stopped for a few minutes at the I am Pai sign on the way from Chinese Village to Pam Bok Waterfall. There is a cafe next to the sign, and also a chill place to explore.
#9. Hiking Pai Canyon at sunset
Pai Canyon is a beautiful natural attraction located 8 km south of Pai Walking Street. This site is very popular at sunset. Lots of people come here in the late afternoon, hiking, and enjoy the magnificent sunset views.
Pai Canyon is open daily and free to enter. It is a few minutes walk from the parking area. There are many shops selling food, fruits, and drinks at the entrance.
The climbing at the Pai Canyon is very interesting but quite dangerous and slippery. Sometimes I felt a bit scared climbing through the tiny steep slippery tunnels.The crowds and long queues in the late afternoon made me even more nervous.
I did some climbing and crawling in some parts because I felt it was enough. I stopped at some cliffs area and watched the peaceful sunset with other people.
If you want to hike to the canyon, I recommend coming early before everyone arrives for sunset. Allow couples of hours for exploring. I arrived the canyon on the tour and had only around 1 hour to explore.
#10. River Pai Bamboo Bridges
The Pai River is located right next to the Walking street. You can have a leisure stroll along the bank of Pai River, and cross two beautiful bamboo bridges, connecting the walking street and the other bank of the river. You can check out one of the several cafes with river views near these bridges.
#11. Party Tipsy Tubing On Pai River
Pai is a party town, you can enjoy the lively nightlife at many bars in the walking street or taking the party tubing along the Pai River. You can take a leisurely float down the Pai River, taking in the scenic landscapes, and socializing with others.
This tour can be booked easily at any hostel, and travel agencies in Pai. The price is around 250 baht and it lasts for a few hours.
#12. Explore Local cafes, restaurants, and bars
Pai has many beautiful cafes and restaurants with stunning views. The restaurants are concentrated in the town center and scattered around the countryside area. I recommend having a look at Two Sister Restaurant or Two Huts.
Two Sister Restaurant is 20 minutes walk from Pai Walking street and has nice food with combinations of Burmese and Thai food. Two Huts are popular places to watch the sunset.
#13. Nam Lod Cave
Nam Lod Cave is a popular tourist attraction located 50 km north of Pai Walking street. It is known for its several huge caves and a bamboo rafting ride to reach these caves. It usually takes a few hours to visit this cave from Pai.
You can take a joint tour to visit Nam Lod Cave, and remember to book in advance at least one day if you are visiting in the high season. If you have a group of friends (4 and more), you can consider hiring a private taxi.
The ticket was 600 baht for a boat, and two people on the boat could share the price. I paid 300 baht for the trip. You can buy fish food to feed the fish at the entrance and on the boat.
The local tour guide held the lantern and showed us special stalagmites and stalactites on each cave. It involved climbing some steep dark stairs with lots of bat guanos and the smell was bad.
See more: How to visit Nam Lod Cave from Pai
#14. Hot Springs
There are many natural hot springs around Pai. Popular places are Sai Ngam Hot Spring, Tha Pai Hot Spring, Pai Hotsprings Spa Resort, and Muang Paeng Hot Spring. Some places such as Sai Ngam Hot Spring have ridiculous entrance tickets for foreigners, 400 baht. I skipped all the hot springs in pai.
#15. Yoga/ Meditation retreat
Pai is a peaceful and laid-back town in the mountain region of Thailand. It is an ideal place for yoga classes and meditation retreats. Most retreats range from 3 to 8 days. The package often comes with accommodation, daily breakfast, and evening meals.
Some options to consider include Pai International Meditation Center, Pa Pae Meditation Retreat, and Nam Yang Kung Fu Retreat.
These are the 15 amazing things to do and see in Pai. I visited most of them and had a great time in this beautiful city. Feel free to comment down below if you have other nice things to add to the list.