Fang Hot Springs

The Fang springs sit inside Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park and are one of the more active geothermal areas in Thailand: around fifty vents across a wooded field, with water emerging near boiling and one vent behaving as a small geyser, throwing water and steam several metres into the air at intervals. Steam drifts across the ground and the smell of sulphur is present but mild. The standard interaction is the same as at other Thai springs - buy a basket of eggs and lower it into a boiling pool - and there are mineral bathing rooms and pools where the water is mixed down, plus camping and simple park accommodation. A geothermal power research station operated here, using the heat resource. The vents are genuinely at boiling temperature and the ground around some is thin and hot; the marked paths and barriers exist because people have been badly scalded stepping off them.

What you actually see

• The vent field - around fifty geothermal outlets across wooded ground.
• The geyser - water and steam thrown several metres up at intervals.
• The egg boiling - baskets lowered into the boiling pools.
• The bathing rooms - mineral water mixed to a usable temperature.

When to go

November to February, when the cool air makes the steam and the bathing worthwhile. Mornings show the steam best against cold air.

Honest expectations

Water at the vents is at boiling point and the surrounding ground can be thin - stay on the marked paths, and watch children closely. Scalding injuries happen. Facilities are basic park ones. Foreign entry fees are higher than Thai.

Nearby

Doi Ang Khang is north-west; Doi Pha Hom Pok, Thailand's second highest peak, is in the same park.