Mae Kampong Village
A one-street village in a valley an hour east of Chiang Mai, known for coffee, homestays and mist.
Mae Kampong is a small tea-growing village an hour east of Chiang Mai, wrapped around a stream at 1,300 metres. It is a half-day or overnight trip built around waterfalls, homestays and a coffee-and-tea economy. There is no entrance fee.
Prices and hours are our current best information, not a published rate. Confirm on the day before you travel.
A one-street village in a valley an hour east of Chiang Mai, known for coffee, homestays and mist.
The village sits inside a royal project area that replaced opium with tea, coffee and macadamia in the 1980s. The community of a few hundred families now runs homestays, and the income from visitors has kept young people from leaving — a rare case where tourism is the thing holding a village together rather than dismantling it.
It is the closest thing to a rural Thai village stay that is still comfortable: farm-to-cup coffee, a short waterfall trail, and homestays run by the families who live there.
What you’ll actually see
- The Mae Kampong waterfall at the top of the village, a five-minute walk from the road
- Tea terraces on the hillside above the village, picked by hand in the cool season
- The stream running through the middle of the village, lined with cafés on stilts
- Wat Mae Kampong, a small teak temple above the waterfall path
How to visit it well
- Go on a weekday; the street is narrow and busy at weekends.
- The coffee shops close around 5pm.
- Stay the night if you can — the morning mist is the point.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Coming as a day trip on a weekend and finding the village packed with Bangkok day-trippers
- Not booking a homestay — the overnight is what makes this place work
- Expecting hot weather; it is 10–15°C on winter mornings
Is it worth it?
Worth an overnight, not really worth a rushed day trip. The village is genuinely pretty and the homestay economy is unusually well run. If you only have a day, combine it with Mae On's hot springs and the San Kamphaeng craft workshops.
Common questions
About 50km, one hour by car via San Kamphaeng. Songthaews run from San Kamphaeng but are slow.
Yes if you can. The evening and early morning, when the day-trippers have gone and the mist sits in the valley, are the reason to come.
November to February for cool, clear weather. The rainy season is green and the waterfall is at its best but the paths are slippery.
Yes. The waterfall walk is short and gentle and the homestays are used to children.
Tours that include Mae Kampong Village
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Last updated: October 2026 · Prices and hours checked by Kanya Pongsak