Chiang Mai to Pai by scooter: the 762 curves, the licence you need, and the smoky months

From Chiang Mai you head north on Route 107 to Mae Malai, then turn west onto Route 1095, the road the stickers and T-shirts in Pai are about. It’s about 130 km and three hours of riding; plan four to six hours with stops, which is the point of riding it. You climb from about 300 m at Chiang Mai to a pass at roughly 1,200 m, then drop to about 600 m in Pai.

The stretch from Mae Malai to Pai is famously said to have 762 bends. No one seems to know who counted them, and you’ll stop counting after the first twenty. What matters is that the curves are tight, many are hairpins, and the climbs and drops are steep.

• Mok Fa waterfall, a short walk in, with a pool you can swim in.
• Pong Duet hot springs, steaming pools in the forest.
• The coffee stops on the pass, where everyone pulls over to let their hands warm up.

Around Pai: Pai Canyon at sunset, narrow ridges with drops either side; the Land Split, a farmer’s field cracked open, with fruit and juice on an honesty basis; the old WWII bridge; and Yun Lai viewpoint at dawn, where the valley is under mist until about half past seven and you’re served tea.

Not riding? Minivans run about every hour from Chiang Mai’s Arcade bus station, 6:30 am to 5:30 pm, and take about 3 to 3½ hours. If you get motion sick, take a tablet half an hour before, sit at the front and keep off your phone.

• Your Indian licence alone isn’t enough. You need an International Driving Permit (IDP). India and Thailand are both parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention on road traffic, so an Indian IDP is valid in Thailand, for a year.
• Apply at your RTO (Form 4A), or start on the Parivahan website, with your licence, passport and air ticket.
• The motorcycle class must be on it. The IDP only copies the classes on your Indian licence; if your licence is for cars only (LMV), you’re not licensed to ride a scooter in Thailand, IDP or not. You need MCWG (motorcycle with gear) on the licence.

Why it matters: police checkpoints are common in Chiang Mai, especially around the Old City moat, and are reported on the Pai road too, with on-the-spot fines of around ฿1,000. Helmets are compulsory for rider and passenger; since 2022 the fine is up to ฿2,000, and if your passenger isn’t wearing one, you’re fined too. Most travel insurance won’t pay out for a crash if you were riding without a valid motorcycle licence, and some policies exclude scooters altogether, so read your policy before you go.

A 125cc (a Honda Click is typical) costs about ฿150–300 a day in Chiang Mai and a little less in Pai; bigger 150–160cc scooters such as an NMAX or PCX cost about ฿250–450. Expect a cash deposit of about ฿1,000–2,500. Many shops still ask to keep your passport; reputable ones take a copy and the deposit instead.

A 125cc is fine for one person. If you’re riding two-up, or going on past Pai, get the 150–160cc: you’ll want the power on the climbs and the brakes on the way down.

Thailand has some of the most dangerous roads in the world. The WHO counts about 18,000 road deaths a year, and more than 80% of them are people on motorbikes. Route 1095 isn’t the place to learn. What riders who’ve done it keep saying:

• Start early: less traffic, cooler air, the mist, and you’re in before the afternoon rain.
• Watch the inside of hairpins for gravel, and expect pickups to cut the corner towards you.
• Brake with the engine downhill; don’t ride the brakes all the way down.
• Send your bags on the minivan and ride light.
• Mind the exhaust. The “Pai tattoo” is a burn on the inside of the calf from a hot exhaust; get on and off from the left.

Yi Peng, the lantern festival, falls around 24–25 November in 2026, with the full moon on the 24th and the big lantern release in Chiang Mai. Check the official dates nearer the time.

The road keeps going. About 110 km on from Pai is Mae Hong Son town, and 44 km north of that, almost on the Myanmar border, is Ban Rak Thai (Mae Aw). The village was settled by Kuomintang soldiers and their families who left Yunnan, in China, after 1949. The area once grew opium; it now grows tea, mostly oolong, on the hills around a small lake. You eat Yunnanese food there, such as braised pork leg with steamed buns, and nights are cold in the cool season.

The road is paved all the way, with steep hairpins; from Pai, plan most of a day. The full Mae Hong Son Loop, from Chiang Mai through Pai and Mae Hong Son and back, is about 600 km.

• Visa-free stay is now 30 days. The 60-day exemption that began in July 2024 ended on 15 September 2026; Indians now get 30 days visa-free, for tourism.
• Fill in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) within 72 hours before you land. It’s free, at tdac.immigration.go.th; ignore paid look-alike sites.
• There is no tourist entry fee yet. One has been talked about for years (now proposed at ฿300 to ฿450), but it was not in force when we checked.
• There are no non-stop flights from India to Chiang Mai. You change in Bangkok (Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air, IndiGo or Vietjet); some routes go through Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.