Cycling the Mae Hong Son Loop
First thing I did before coming to Thailand was to book a tour with Chiang Mai Cycling buddy. It was my first time booking a tour since I’ve only seen European Boomer prices in my life and there’s no way I’m paying 5-10k for a week of riding. This one was about 2000$ for over a week with support van, hotels, food and a tour guide who rides with you. What a deal.
This loop is one of the most epic bike rides of the world and usually done on a motorcycle ( because boomers ). The tour ends at the top of Thailand’s highest point, Doi Inthanon. I ended up doing the tour twice since I got pretty sick the first time around ( not Thai food’s fault don’t worry ) so these pictures are a mix of both groups!
What an unforgettable experience whether you bring your own group or just join a departing tour. You can rent a bike for about 200$/week as well.
Day 1: Chiang Mai —> Pai
Strava Link
Big day to start going into the town of Pai, currently overrun with dirty white hippies for some reason. Fairly long ride out of Chiang Mai and into the mountains where you do a few beautiful climbs with many great viewpoints. You might see the water buffalos walking on the road.
Then you descend into Pai on a sketchy ( as of this writing ) climb with some varying quality of road surface and very steep gradients.
You will learn that even though all the road signs in Thailand say “8% grade” that this is a lie and most of the climbs have steep 15-20% sections. Bring good gearing for this!
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Day 2 - Pai —> Nam Lod Cave
Starting in Pai with optional detour to Pai Canyon and the big Buddah built into the mountain. One sizeable climb on the day and ending in a tiny village near Nam Lod cave. You can stay at the cave itself, there’s a British guy who’s been running the outpost since the 1980s. Thailand and Viet Nam are two of the world’s top destinations for caves, apparently.
Well worth the detour if you feel like doing a shorter day on the loop. They also offer kayak excursions down river with lots of rapids!
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Day 3 - Nam Lod - Mae Hong Son
Now that you’re well rested you can tackle the rest of the trip. Net downhill going to Mae Hong Son but still lots of medium sized climbs all day long. You’re really out in the country at this point with no roads between you and Burma to the west.
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Day 4 - Mae Hong Son —> Khun Yuam + Microwave Climb
Normally a fairly short day with no large climbs, just rolling. But you get the option to do this really stupid concrete climb on a tiny road that passes through a cabbage-farming village and then keeps climbing up to a military radio tower of some sort. The first 2km averages 15.5% and there’s many sections above 25%.
If you feel like a challenge and don’t mind wearing out your brake pads, give it a try. It’s a harder climb than Doi Inthanon, but only 700m gain with a few breaks and dips.
I also realize I deleted all my microwave climb pictures, not that I took many since 2 large dogs chased me at the top. The one place with the unfriendly dogs in Thailand…
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DAY 5 - Khun Yuam —> Mae Chaem
I got a lot of bonus climb that day going up hard then back down for moral support. Usually only 3350m! Hardest day of the trip as you ride all the way to Mae Chaem, a little town at the base of Doi Inthanon.
Very long day especially if it’s hot. Which it will be. Fortunately in Thailand all the roadside stands and shops have ice water and popscicles.
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DAY 6 - Mae Chaem —> Doi Inthanon —> Chiang Mai (Optional )
Last leg of the journey up Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand and one of the 50 toughest and highest paved climbs in the world. From Mae Chaem it’s a little bit less climbing than from the other side but almost 10km shorter, meaning much steeper on average. You can see the course profile, there’s a long steep wall to start, a little respite before you turn at the ranger station then it’s just more brutal steep climbing to the top where there’s basically nothing to see. Not the best views but quite a challenge!
You cannot go back to the ranger station by bike, you’ll need to hitch a ride but once you get dropped off, feel free to ride 60-70km back to Chiang Mai, thus completing the long.
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Joining Chani’s bike tour was the best bike trip I’ve done, not even close. Chiang Mai is a great home base for a cycling camp/vacation but getting the chance to ride the more remote roads of Thailand is a treat. There’s more large loops to be done in the future!