Pai Canyon Trail Loop (Mae Hong Son)

Distance: 6 kilometers

Elevation: 150m

Difficulty: Easy

What to expect on this trail?

This trail loop at Pai Canyon is a short, but extremely scenic one. You’ll make your way up to the main viewpoint along a lesser-known route, and make your way down along narrow ridges. The descent down from Pai Canyon takes you through a forest along dried-up streams. There’s a short road section you’ll finish off with some very scenic dirt roads through Pai’s countryside.

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Pai Canyon Trail Loop in detail

The open activity space near Wat Sop Paem is a very convenient place to start. From there you will find a wide dirt track leading up the hill. As you run along, you will find it gets more and more narrow as you get closer to Pai Canyon. Do keep an eye out on your GPS, because there are different tracks leading in different directions. You should stick to the main one that leads you up to the main viewpoint of Pai Canyon.

You’ll most likely meet some people at the main viewpoint. The views here are indeed very scenic here, especially at sunset and sunrise. Take a little breather as you take in the views (or not), and continue along the narrow ridges. Be careful though, as a slip could easily mean the end of your trail running career (and your life for that matter!). You will again see different trails heading in different directions, you will want to keep left to complete the loop. Some sections are not runnable, and you may need to “crawl” down some sections. These sections are short and there are only a couple, so don’t worry!

As you approach the far side of Pai Canyon, you will get some nice views before descending into the forest. The section in the forest is probably the most difficult to navigate. Keep a close look at your GPS and follow the general direction. Most of the time there is a clear path, but you will again need to “crawl” down one more section. After that you will follow a dry (or wet, depending on the season) riverbed, formed by the runoff of rain waters during the monsoon season.

Once you reach the concrete road you have to turn right and follow it for a while. Don’t worry, the concrete soon turns into a dirt road. Before you know it you will be in some amazing countryside scenery to close the loop back to the starting point.

Tips for this trail

While the loop is possible year-round, the cool season (November-February) is the best period. After that, it will be the hot season (March-May), or the rainy season (June-October). During the cool season, you will have nice temperatures and a high chance of seeing a “sea of mist” in the valleys which is quite magical! Other times you risk very hazy views with a chance of air pollution, or a very wet experience (which can also be fun of course!).
The route is not extremely difficult, but there are 3 sections where you may need to use your hands to get down safely.
The ridges at Pai Canyon are quite narrow, with steep drops on both sides in some sections. If you are afraid of heights, you may want to skip this route.
Sunrise is the best time to run this loop in my opinion. Depending on how much time you want to spend admiring the actual sunrise, plan your departure at sunrise time (or a little bit before).

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