Chiang Rai is a land of exceptional natural beauty where visitors seek to avoid the hordes that visit remote hill tribes, wildlife, exotic location, visiting the Golden Triangle, the ancient center of world opium trade.
Chiang Rai has been inhabited since the seventh century, but it was not until 1262 that the King Meng Rai was established as the first capital of Lanna Kingdom. The capital was later moved to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have since lived in the shadow of its neighboring province, but for tourists it is a good thing.
Today, Chiang Rai is a traveler’s paradise, with abundant natural attractions and antiquities. Attractions range from the ruins of ancient settlements and Buddhist shrines magnificent mountain scenery and hill tribe villages. For those interested in the natural side of Chiang Rai, jungle trekking is a magical experience; explore the northern mountains along the various hiking trails, many of which the access of people from different groups of hill tribes, many of which maintain their traditional lifestyles.
Chiang Rai, the former capital of the great kingdom of Lanna, is a province full of fascinating cultural and natural wonders, including the Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Laos, Burma and meet, an area that was once the center of the production opium trade that had great influence on cultural practices and lifestyles. Chiang Rai had fallen off the radar of tourism for many years, its people enjoying a very slow development and most traditional rural lifestyles. Until today, the whole clan to live in bamboo houses and each town has its own individual character.
Recently tourism has soared in Chiang Rai, where visitors have come to explore the natural beauty of the countryside and immersed in Indian culture, including a variety of different tribal communities in the mountains. Fortunately for tourists, Chiang Rai is also a center for community development projects, helping rural people to develop their sites without adversely affecting its natural and cultural assets.