#mon jam

Set at a beautiful mountainous location just a short one hour’s drive away from downtown Chiang Mai, Mon Cham is one of the best day trips that you should do from Chiang Mai. Mon Cham is a mountain paradise full of flowers and farms, making it pretty much Thailand’s own version of the famous Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. Nowadays, the area of Mon Cham is also dotted with many Instagrammable…

Mon Jam Royal Project and a tourist attraction

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Mon Jam Royal Project and a tourist attraction Mon Jam a little hidden gem of views and lovely little huts to eat and take in the view

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Mon Cham(JAM) and Nong Hoi Royal Project

Mon Cham, Mon Jam or Doi Mon Cham is a mountain ridge area in Chiang Mai. It’s part of a Royal Project called Nong Hoi. You must be wondering why we are introducing another name when we haven’t figured out the first one. Well.. the both are interlinked so we have do to two at the same time. So here you go…

Nong Hoi is actually the name of a Village in Chiang Mai comprising of majority Hmong ethnic group. And HOLY, the main crops they were growing for livelihoods were OPIUM poppy, maize and rice.

Now one day His Majesty the King visited the village and recommended alternative agriculture hence the Nong Hoi Royal Project was established. Today, it is one of the largest producers of vegetables in the Royal Project, and also a research centre for herb and vegetable production.

  Mon Cham(JAM) is the name of an area included as part of the Non Hoi project. It’s fairly popular with the locals because of the majestic view. Being on a ridge means you get a panoramic vantage point. The place isn’t very big per se as there’s limited area for buildings to stand but they do have a restaurant and some accommodations there. Which means you can actually have your meals by the cliff or even stay around there if you like.

  We took about an hour drive to get here. The further up you go, the narrower the roads tend to be so drivers be careful. Besides the scenery down the cliff. On the cliff itself, it’s filled with rows and rows of flowers. Multicolours. It’s just a picturesque place that you’ll probably spend hours taking selfies.

Macro Photography

For those that are not into selfies. Like us. You can also observe many interesting critters flying around. Butterflies, Bumble Bees and even some ‘Flying Prawns’ . The insects here are quite big and you can easy take some flying shots of them hovering around the flowers. The ‘flying prawn’ above was taken with a non-macro zoom lens at more than 3 meters away! So macro photography enthusiasts watch out!

Other things to do

If you are not into photography, they also have some cooking class up here but call and book in advance. (Get your hotel to help you to book)

Conclusion

This has to be the highlight of our trip. The one that everyone loved. The one that brought a smile to us at the end of the long drive. The one that we didn’t want to leave until we were itching all over from mosquito bites. (This is Asia so we have mosquitos everywhere).

  How to get there

As usual, print the map before you head out!