Mae Kampong Village

Mae Kampong Village is a small mountain village located in Huai Kaeo Subdistrict, Mae On District, about 50 kilometers east of Chiang Mai city in northern Thailand. Nestled at around 1,300 meters elevation along a hillside stream, it is known for community-based eco-tourism, traditional wooden houses, tea and coffee cultivation, and surrounding forested mountains. The village preserves Lanna cultural traditions and offers homestays, local cafes, a waterfall and a historic temple.

Visitors can expect a quiet hillside village built along a stream with narrow lanes, traditional wooden stilt houses, small cafes and shops selling tea, coffee and local handicrafts. The setting is forested and mountainous with cool air, stepped paths and bridges over the stream. Areas to explore include the central village street, Wat Khantha Phueksa (Wat Mae Kampong), Mae Kampong Waterfall on the edge of the village, viewpoints, and surrounding tea and coffee plantations. Homestays and guided nature walks are available.

Mae Kampong was established over 100 years ago by settlers who migrated to cultivate Miang (fermented tea) in the surrounding forests. The village developed as an agricultural community based on tea, later coffee and forest products, and retains traditional wooden architecture and the historic Wat Khantha Phueksa. In recent decades it became a model for community-based eco-tourism in Thailand.

The village preserves Lanna cultural traditions, Buddhist practices centered on Wat Khantha Phueksa, and traditional livelihoods of Miang tea and coffee cultivation. It is recognized as a community-based tourism model where local households operate homestays and cooperatively manage tourism to sustain local culture and forest conservation.