Brief Description  A Round trip to the hot springs, (70 kms.)

The road to Bo Sang is lined  with handicraft emporiums. Bo Sang itself is a handicrafts village selling all manner of souvenirs but specializing in umbrellas and saa paper.

From Bo Sang, you may go to Doi Saket on R 1014 or continue to Sankampaeng, a small market town and the hot springs beyond. Undeveloped rural countryside off the tourist track lies beyond the hot springs. A fast return journey avoiding the busy Sankampaeng Road may be made on H  1317.

Prices in the showrooms may not be cheap, however. Items like rosewood cabinets with mother of pearl inlay can cost thousands of dollars. The jewellery emporiums have salesrooms that have been darkened to look like grottos full of treasure. Sales girls in traditional dress preside over glittering displays of jewellery.

This temple  has a charming wooden Lanna style viharn built around 1857. It is famous for its 19^th  century murals, which depict tales of the previous lives of the Buddha in a northern style. Continue down the lane to Ban Suan restaurant and access to H 1317 beyond.

Souvenirs fill the small shops that line both sides of the high street which at times becomes choked with buses full of Thai tourists. Traditionally the umbrellas are made in the cool spaces beneath the raised houses, with households sometimes specializing in different parts of the process. This is best seen along the lanes off the north end of high street.

The Umbrella Making Centre (corner of H  1006  & R 1014 ) or The Saa Paper & Umbrella Handicraft Centre (H 1006 KM. 8) provide convenient one-stop looks at the entire process. From Bo Sang, take R 1014  for a country route to Doi Saket (20 kms.)

Also known  as Wat Phra Non Mae Pukha, the temple is set amidst  rice paddy. A  large viharn has been built around a long reclining Buddha image. Murals in a recent style cover much of the walls. Many people come to bathe the image during the Songkran Festival.

A narrow  sealed road leads up the side of a hill to a small car park. From there you have to climb up a steep naga stairway for about  100 metres before reaching the entrance to the caves. Make sure the lights have been switched on before descending into some big, deep caverns. A large seated Buddha image  amidst stalactites creates an impressive effect.

The Sankampaeng Hot Springs (Baht 10.-  entrance) and the Roong Arun Hot Springs Resort (Bt 20 entrance) have geysers, mineral baths and gardens that make a pleasant setting for relaxation. Both offer accommodation but the privately run Roong Arun Hot Springs has more the feeling of a resort.

The road past the hot springs  leads to Ban Mae Pong from where you may go to Doi Saket. Numerous narrow lanes make the route confusing, however. Return via H 1317 and take R 1147 east to visit Wat Pa Tung.

Located in the midst of paddy dotted with sugar palms, this temple contains a large, modern teak kuti. The kuti was built for Luang Phu La Chaiya Janto who died in 1993 at the age of 96. His body is kept in a glass case.

The temple holds three festivals annually: Luang Phu La’s death (16 March), paying respects to the chedi (8th day of the waxing moon in the seventh lunar month  around mid-June) and on his birthday (20 - 22 September). The second festival features rocket and long drum contests, but the third festival is the biggest and holds a competition for traditional and northern classical dancing.

The road goes over a low pass before dropping down to the less developed upper Mae Tha Valley. The new and undeveloped park is 1 km north off the junction. R 1230 offers a picturesque view of the Mae Tha Valley and leads to H 11 (35 kms.)

Free Wheeler Route 2