Nan

NAN is a town in the remote valley of the Nan River in the upper north of Thailand and also the capital of Nan Province, which is bordering Laos to the east. It is located roughly 700 km north of Bangkok, resp. 320 km east of Chiang Mai.
Most parts of the province are forested mountains with arable land used mainly for agriculture. The town is an ancient city steeped in history with its long association of Lanna Thai culture and the Sukhothai Kingdom. The population of Nan City is approx. 25000. Not so many tourists visit Nan, but of those mostly are Thai. Nan is an excellent spot to visit for an authentic Thai experience.

HISTORY. Little known Nan goes back to the depths of the history of Thailand. For centuries it was a separate, autonomous kingdom with few relationships with the outside world. It was founded in the mid of 14th century when Nanthaburi on the Nan River contemporaneously with the creation of Luang Prabang and the Lan Xang (Million Elephants) Kingdom in Laos, that the city became a power to be taken into account. By the end of the 14th century Nan was one of the nine northern Thai-Lao principalities that comprised Lan Na Thai (now Lanna) and the city state flourished throughout the 15th century under the name Chiang Klang, a reference to its position roughly midway between Chiang Mai and Chiang Thong, which is today's Luang Prabang in Laos. The Burmese took control of the kingdom in 1558. The local dynasty then regained local sovereignty in the late 18th century and it remained semi-autonomous until 1931 when Nan finally accepted full Bangkok dominion.

GETTING THERE. Nan Airport is located approx. 1,5 km north of the town and there are daily domestic flights from Bangkok. The bus ride from Bangkok takes about 10 hours. There are also bus services to surrounding provinces, like Phrae, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Phayao and Chiang Rai, as well to the Lao Border in Ban Huay Kon.

ATTRACTIONS. Parts of the old city wall and several early temples dating from the Lanna period can be seen in contemporary Nan. The city of Nan's Wats are distinctive. Some temple structures show Lanna influence, while others belong to the Tai Lue language, a legacy brought from Xishuangbanna in China, where the Tai Lue people came from. Wat Phumin is Nan’s most famous wat. Wat Min Muang with the city pillar is definitely also worth a visit, as well as Wat Phra That Chae Haeng. Wat Phra That Khao Noi on a small hilltop offers great views to the town and surrounding mountains.
Elsewhere in the northeast of the province the vast Doi Phu Kha National Park contains waterfalls, limestone mountains and rare plants. Nearby, the heavily forested Khun Nan National Park is home to wild boars, black bears, reptiles and many birds.
Also located north of the provincial town is Wat Nong Bua in Nong Bua Village, a very colorful and beautiful Thai Lue temple with wall murals painted by Thai Lue artists some one hundred years ago. In the village itself you can watching the female costume of people in that time namely, women wearing sarong in Nam Lai patterns-traditional tribal fabric. Nowadays, the kind of fabric is also the well-known local handcraft of Thai Lue people.
In the eastern part of the province the district of Bo Kluea is well known for its ancient salt wells, from which salt is produced from the evaporation.
Festivals in Nan. Most popular is the Nan traditional long boat festival, held annually in September or October when the water level of the Nan River is at its peak.