Chae Son National Park

Chae Son covers about 590 square kilometres of hill forest north of Lampang, and what makes it worth the drive is having two unrelated features in one place. A geothermal field near the headquarters produces water at around seventy-three degrees from a set of vents, with the usual egg-boiling baskets, mineral bathing rooms and foot channels where the water has cooled. A few hundred metres away, Chae Son waterfall drops in six tiers through forest into pools that are cold. Standing in the cold pool and then the hot bath in the same afternoon is the local pattern. The park also has camping, bungalows and a walk to the upper tiers. It is popular with Thai visitors in the cool season and quiet otherwise. The spring water is hot enough to scald and the rocks at the waterfall are slippery; both hazards are ordinary and both catch people.

What you actually see

• The hot springs - vents at around seventy-three degrees with bathing rooms.
• The six-tier waterfall - cold pools a short walk from the springs.
• The egg boiling - baskets in the hot channel, as at other Thai springs.
• The forest walk - the path up alongside the tiers.

When to go

November to February for the cool air, which makes the hot springs worthwhile; the waterfall runs strongest from July into November. Weekends bring Thai families.

Honest expectations

Spring water scalds at the source. Waterfall rocks are slippery. Facilities are basic national park ones. Foreign entry fees are higher than Thai.

Nearby

Lampang is south; Doi Khun Tan and Chiang Mai are west.