Mae Kuang dam is a medium-sized reservoir located around 30 km to the northeast of Chiang Mai city. The reservoir is a popular fishing destination for giant snakeheads and other fish.
The reservoir is very big and beautiful. Very beautiful. The water is also clean. Ask friends. You can play for a day
It's beautiful beyond words and definitely worth visiting! There are no tourists at all, and the scenery is very shocking! However, there will be some problems with Google's navigation. It took us a long way, and when we found it impassable, we spared ourselves a long way to find our way. In short, here, you can enjoy the most beautiful scenery in Chiang Mai!
This short trip outside of Chiang Mai will get you to a viewpoint over the Mae Kuang Dam. This is a dam built primarily of dirt, holding back a stunning 263 million cubic meters of water, supplying water for an agricultural area of 148,400 rai (23744 hectares).
The dam rests at 390m above sea level and spans over 15 square kilometers of surface area. This is all fed by 204 million cubic meters of water flowing in and out of the dam each year from the Kuang river.
The Kuang River has a long history of supplying agricultural water for Northern Thailand. The problem in the past was the Kuang River had flooding issues causing mass damage. The last large flood was in 1886, causing massive amounts of damage downstream to farmlands.
Prince Bowondej was the first to plan a dam along the river, in addition to a mine to deliver water to the farmers in Doi Saket and San Kamphaeng. Sadly, this first dam project was forced to be canceled due to budget constraints. In the year 1935, the project was finally abandoned.
In 1948 the Royal Irrigation Department constructed a rock dam for irrigation purposes in the Doi Saket region, replacing the first constructed dam by Prince Rajapakinai.
Finally, on March 4, 1976, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, himself, visited the local people and began a royal initiative. From here the Royal Irrigation Department began work on the dam that we have today, offering irrigation to over 148,400 rai, and preventing flooding of the Kuang River.
The dam is open from 6am to 630pm. There are gates that close to prevent people from coming here during off hours (due to security), so make sure to plan your day around the opening hours.
Also, the restaurants are only open during the day, so it’s best to plan your day around a coffee and lunch to get out of the sun.
Only 45 minutes away from the city on well-maintained roads, the viewpoint is a quick 30km drive from Chiang Mai. It is one of the gems of Northern Thailand where you can be at a remote Dam location within an hour of the city proper.
I went to this lookout point about two weeks ago with a bunch of friends. We had an amazing time. The view is so beautiful and we went down to the water and swam a bit. Around sunset time a lot of people started to come to bike, walk, and just watch the sunset.,
Great place to visit if you're interested in walking, running, biking, or boating in the Chiang Mai area. It's about a 40min ride but totally worth it. Great for sunrise and sunset views. I would advise against driving over the swinging bridge as it was falling apart and the sheet metal flooring was losing its welded seems. But a park and walk or just hangout it is a good place for that.
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