Phu Chi Fa

Phu Chi Fa is a grass-covered ridge in the far east of Chiang Rai province, ending in a cliff above a broad valley. The draw is a single reliable phenomenon: on cold clear mornings in the dry season, the valley fills with a flat layer of cloud and the sun comes up out of it. From the car park it is a short climb of seven or eight hundred metres, steep enough on the last section to leave people breathing hard in the cold. Small guesthouses and campsites cluster along the road below, most of them built around this one hour of the day, and the hills behind are planted with tea and cabbage.

What you actually see

• The cliff edge at dawn - cloud filling the valley below the grass ridge.
• The ridge walk - open grassland along the top, empty once the sun is up.
• Wild Himalayan cherry - pink blossom along the approach road in the cool months.
• Phu Chi Dao - a quieter grassland ridge nearby with the same cloud view.

When to go

November to February is the season; outside it the valley usually stays clear and there is no cloud sea to see. Leave your guesthouse around five to be on the cliff before first light, and expect near-freezing air on the ridge in December and January. Cloud depends entirely on the weather and is never guaranteed on any given morning.

Honest expectations

The last stretch of road is narrow, steep and unpleasant in the dark. On peak mornings several hundred people stand on a small cliff top, tripods included, and the good spots are taken an hour before sunrise. Parts of the edge have no railing. If the cloud does not form, you have driven a long way and climbed in the cold for a plain view.

Nearby

Phu Chi Dao, the Thoeng valley and the road back to Chiang Rai town.