A fab loop around Mae Wang area, which includes a stop-in at a HUGE abandoned complex, a hidden forest temple, an elephant sanctuary, a giant Buddha and a back route through the highest mountain in Thailand!
Table of Contents
Incredible Mae Wang
GOOGLE MAP ROUTE
My main plan on this day was to ride to the stunning forest temple of Wat Luang Khun Win. This temple is a bit tricky to get to, due to the route being broken up and partially incomplete and I wasn’t sure if it would rain or not (which would turn the red clay earth into a really muddy and slippery ride!).
On the way to the temple, I spotted an interesting-looking entranceway on the R1013. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took a quick look inside…
1: Abandoned Village
Abandoned “Mae Baan” village project.
What was just a quick detour peek turned into a really amazing find of a HUGE unfinished complex. This place just kept going and going, with lots of little roads darting off in different directions.
Take a look at this map to see how huge the area is:
The most interesting part of the whole complex is the main large building. Below is a LIVE Facebook video I shot of the building, plus a few images below.
After wandering around the rabbit hole of this complex, I headed out, stopping quickly at an elephant sanctuary before heading to Wat Luang Khun Win.
Route To Wat Mae Win
En route to the temple is the Karen Eco Lodge. I didn’t stop in, but I will some other, as I have always meant to visit.
The route to the temple was a little muddy in sections but mostly graded dirt and broken-up road. It wasn’t bad, but I was nervous about it raining hard as I am not confident on dirt. (…a previous trip report of visiting this temple via Samoeng, is HERE, which is a much more off-road ride.)
When I arrived at the temple, it was as beautiful as always.
2: Wat Luang Khun Win
Wat Luang Khun WIn is an incredible temple hidden in the Thai jungle, with an ancient teak Buddha (carved from a single Teak tree), and a beautiful teak temple.
Video of this ride and the route condition:
Next, I planned to head to the giant Buddha at Phra That Si Somdej Phra Phutthachinwong, which overlooks the Mae Wang Valley. Rain was on the way though and I wanted a cool drink too, so I stopped off first at Coffee with Elephants on the R1013. It was good timing because the rain did come down heavily, including some very dramatic thunder. It went on for quite a while, but I had good company.
3: Coffee with Elephants
This cafe with elephants, states that funds go towards elephant conservation. Bananas are available for feeding the elephants but I confess, I felt that the elephants seemed very bored in their enclosures.
This place is also connected to a Mae Wang ethical Elephant camp, although I am not sure how ethical the camp actually is.
I fed the elephants a couple of bunches of bananas then headed off once the rain cleared up.
Ethical Elephant Camps
There are several elephant camps in Mae Wang and one I can certainly recommend is Chai Lai Orchid.
My next planned stop was to the fabulous giant Buddha at Phra That Si Somdej Phra Phutthachinwong, on the R4053 in Mae Wang. I wanted to check the progress of the fantastic mural inside the temple.
4: Giant Buddha
Wat Phrathat Si Somdej Phra Phutthachinwong temple, with an incredible giant Buddha statue overlooking Mae Wang Valley.
I have a previous video of the mural HERE and another video of the walls when they were white, HERE.
After enjoying the giant Buddha, the grounds and the spectacular Mae Wang Valley view, I headed off towards Doi Inthanon, with just a few photo stops along the way.
The R1284
Stunning back route to Doi Inthanon, the Highest Mountain in Thailand
The R1284 Mae Wang route is always fabulous!
End of trip
From this point on it was just non-stop back to Chiang Mai City.
All in all, it was a fantastic day out with lots of amazing sights and scenery, on some really great routes and roads!
Hope you enjoyed this Mae Wang trip report.
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