Pai: 762 bends into the hills

Pai is a small town in a valley three hours north of Chiang Mai, and it has been a traveller trap in the nicest sense for decades: cheap bamboo huts, a walking street of food stalls, waterfalls and hot springs in the hills, and a general reluctance to leave. The road in is the famous part — 762 bends, and the minibuses take them fast.

Getting There

• Minibuses from Chiang Mai take about 3 hours and are notorious for travel sickness — sit at the front, take a tablet before you leave, and avoid a big breakfast
• Riding the road yourself on a scooter is a rite of passage, and also where a lot of people come off; the 'Pai tattoo' is the local name for the resulting scrape
• A scooter is all but essential once you're there, as everything worth seeing is spread through the valley
• The town itself is a few walkable streets

What to Do

• Pai Canyon — narrow eroded ridges with steep drops either side; spectacular at sunset, and genuinely dangerous in flip flops
• Hot springs — Sai Ngam is the nicest, a natural pool under trees; the commercial ones near town are hotter and busier
• Mo Paeng and Pam Bok waterfalls, both with pools to swim in during the wet months
• Bamboo Bridge (Boon Ko Ku So) — a long bamboo walkway over rice fields to a temple
• The White Buddha — steps above town, best at sunrise
• Walking Street — the evening market that takes over the main road with food stalls and live music

Where to Eat and Stay

• Bamboo bungalows along the river are the classic Pai stay, and among the cheapest beds in Thailand
• Northern Thai food — khao soi, sai ua sausage, nam prik dips — plus an outsized number of vegan cafés
• The walking street does everything from pad thai to falafel for pocket change
• Bars are relaxed and close relatively early; this is not an island party town

Everyone books two nights and stays five. Build the slack into your plans rather than rebooking the minibus, which sells out days ahead in high season.