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Mon Cham (or Mon Jam!), Chiang Mai:

A Spectacular Daytrip

Vegetables and herbs grow in neat rows next to bright flowers at Mon Cham, a mountain top picnic paradise. I love this fun, interesting day trip from Chiang Mai!

Mon Cham or Mon Jam

Mon Cham is sometimes called Mon Jam. It's on top of a small mountain and has incredible, incredible views of hills, villages, Royal Project farms and valleys rolling into the distance. Mon Cham is a Chiang Mai day trip, or a side trip from the Samoeng Loop.

It's only an hour's drive from the busy city to this wonderful, relaxed spot. Everyone I've taken here has adored it.

The canteen serves delicious Thai and Western food, which visitors can eat in an open-walled bamboo hut perched on the mountain's edge, or you could find somewhere to sit in the garden.

The gardens at Mon Cham are just gorgeous. You can see an almost 360 degree view of mountains all around you as you wander among the flowers.

Local villagers used to grow opium, but now they grow high value crops. Nong Hoi Royal Project is on a mountain, so farmers can grow cool-climate crops which fetch a higher price in local markets. The Project teaches local farmers how to grow them, because they aren't traditionally grown in the area.