Visit two famous mountains Doi mae salong & Doi Toung in Chiang Rai province. On the same day,
Doi Mae Salong Mae also known as Santikhiri its modern name, which has never replaced the former is located in the mountainous north of Thailand, about 70 km northwest of Chiang Rai. The explanation is quite simple: in the early 1960s many ex-soldiers of the Kuomintang -Chinese Nationalist Party-, who had to flee China after Mao Zedong’s communist victory in 1949, settled in Mae Salong after spending a decade sheltering in neighboring Myanmar.
Doi tung Royal Villa former residence of Princess Mother Srinagarindra, is high up on the hill. The villa was originally built as a summer residence for the princess mother and now houses a museum displaying her work to improve the life quality of local tribes people. The Mae Fah Luang Gardens are a botanical park on the slopes below the royal villa. Flowers and plants grow among rock formations.
Due to the princess mother's interest and encouragement, the hills were reforested. She was also instrumental in fighting against the opium trade. As a result, the local hill tribes stopped growing poppies and began to grow other crops.