Doi Mae Salong

Santikhiri, still universally called Mae Salong, sits at around 1,200 metres on a Chiang Rai ridge, and its population descends from soldiers of the Chinese Nationalist 93rd Division who retreated from Yunnan after 1949, fought their way through Burma, and were eventually allowed to settle here in exchange for guarding the border. For years the economy involved opium; Thai government programmes and a royal project pushed crop substitution from the 1970s, and the hillsides are now terraced in oolong tea alongside coffee, fruit and flowers. The village is functionally Yunnanese - Mandarin is spoken, the food is Yunnanese Chinese rather than Thai, tea houses offer tastings, and a morning market sells Chinese produce. Wild Himalayan cherry flowers along the roads from late December into January. The road up is steep and winding, nights are cold, and the border area sees military checkpoints.

What you actually see

• The tea terraces - oolong planted where opium was grown.
• The Yunnanese village - Mandarin, Chinese food and tea houses.
• The 93rd Division history - Kuomintang soldiers settled here after 1949.
• The cherry blossom - wild Himalayan cherry from late December into January.

When to go

November to February; cherry blossom from late December into January. The tea houses run tastings year-round. Nights are cold at 1,200 metres.

Honest expectations

Steep winding mountain road up. Cold at night. It is a border area with checkpoints - carry identification. Tea selling is persistent in the village. Some historical presentation is partial about the period after 1949.

Nearby

Doi Tung and the Mae Fah Luang garden are east; the Myanmar border is north.