Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden
A large botanical garden and research institution in the hills north-west of Chiang Mai. Glasshouses, canopy walkway, and a lot of ground.
Mae Rim district · north-west of Chiang Mai
The garden sits in Mae Rim, in the hills north-west of the city. It is a working botanical institution rather than only a public park, with research and conservation running alongside the visitor side.
It is large enough that the layout assumes a vehicle. Roads loop through the grounds and the sections are spread far apart.
The glasshouse complex
The central attraction is a group of connected glasshouses on a rise, each holding a different climate and plant group.
The approach to them is the postcard view. Formal planting, a floral clock set into the lawn, and a large fountain on the open ground below.
The canopy walkway
A raised walkway runs out through the forest canopy, well above the ground, giving a view across the treetops rather than through them.
It is one of the longer walkways of its kind in the country and it is the part most people remember.
Getting there
It is roughly an hour from central Chiang Mai depending on traffic, and the last stretch climbs.
The elevation makes it cooler than the city and the air is usually better. Allow most of a day. Walking the whole site is possible but long.
A botanical institution that happens to be open to the public, rather than a park with plants in it.
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