Doi Chang and Doi Wawee. Located in Mae Suai district of Chiang Rai

Coffee, fresh and cool mountain air and awesome scenery are all there to be had at Doi Chang and Doi Wawee. Located in the two mountains can be visited on a day outing from Chiang Rai, and this is the best time of the year to visit them.
Doi Chang means the elephant mountain, the name given by hill tribe people who settled in the area. It rises 1,220 metres above sea level and is known to produce high-quality coffee like the Arabica cultivar that's noted for its aroma.
Visitors can check out the coffee plant or its fruit that grow all year round. Not very far from Mae Suai is a lake by the same name, in whose serene water you can see the reflection of towering mountains which is a pleasant sight to behold.
Doi Chang is connected to Highway 118 by a country road that is only partly paved and requires some testing climb over steep mountain slopes and unpaved sections. The view from high ground shows Akha and Lisu hill tribe villages nestled in the valley. You can see villagers either tending farms that mostly grow coffee or spreading out harvested coffee beans in the sun in front of their homes to rid them of moisture.
On Doi Chang there is an agricultural research centre where visitors can sample freshly brewed coffee or buy the beans and macadamia sold in nicely sealed packets. Endowed with cool climate, fertile soil and right sunlight throughout the year, Doi Chang is ideal for cultivating the Arabica variety that thrives under such conditions. "Being a government unit we focus more on the experimental rather than the commercial side," said a staffer at the centre. "Down there is a company that produces various brands of coffee," he added, pointing in its direction.

Temperature and geographical conditions, roasting and brewing, grinding and the way water is used can make a difference in the taste and aroma of coffee. In the same vein powdered coffee is richer in colour and aroma.
The centre also boasts a beautiful flower garden at this time of the year when pink and white azaleas, French marigolds, Californian poppies, phlox, cleome and other flowers are in bloom, while towering pine trees add variety to the colourful scenery.
At the centre you will find a map showing a well and a sacred pond. It is half the size of a football field nestled in a jungle and very hard to find. As the story goes, villagers spotted a streak of light rising in the sky on full-moon nights and on 15th day of the waning moon, according to the lunar calendar.
Curious, they set out to find its source and found the well and pond. It is said that those eating fish from the pond will meet an untimely death. Later arrived a monk and resting on a rock by the pond, he found Buddha images interred under the boulder.
Local people believe the light to be divine energy and the well and pond the abode of gods. In 1987 monks from temples in Chiang Rai and Brahmin priests visited the pond to collect water for the "Nam Pipatsattaya" religious rite, the ultimate act of pledging allegiance to the King and the country.
The spot where the images were found is now labelled Buddha Uthayan or the Buddha Park on the map, that also shows a tea tree, Camellia sinensis, said to be a thousand years old.
From Doi Chang visitors can travel to Doi Wawee, another 45 minutes' ride on well-paved roads. Doi Wawee was once the outpost of Kuomintang soldiers (93rd Division) fighting the Red Army after the Chinese revolution in 1949.
These new settlers introduced tea farming to Thailand. Initially, hill tribe people, especially the elders, used to chew its leaves but in due course they learned to boil it in water and drink the brew.
In those days Doi Wawee was not connected by roads and the tea it produced failed to reach the market, making it uncompetitive. When Doi Mae Salong, another tea farming region in the province started cultivating a new strain from Taiwan, the oolong, Doi Wawee followed suit. Oolong quickly became popular because of its fragrance and soft taste.
Meanwhile, A small tea shop run by Pinit Pitakwawee is a popular meeting point at Doi Wawee village.
Pinit, a second-generation descendant of Kuomintang Chinese, plants the oolong variety on his 20-rai. His Wawee tea shop sits next to the village market. Here visitors can buy tea and other souvenirs for friends back home.

MORE INFO :
Winter is best time to visit Doi Chang when the temperature is cool and the valley is clad in mist. You need a 4x4 to get there as the road is alternatively paved and unpaved. Avoid rainy season.
Doi Chang is 78 kilometres from Chiang Rai town off Highway 118 if you are travelling there via the Mae Suai-Ban Teendoi-Saen Charoen-Ban Doi Lan-Doi Chang route.
Alternatively, you can get there via Huai San in Mae Lao district: the distance is only 15 kilometres, or take the Mae Suai-Ban Teendoi-Thung Phrao-Huai Khrai route to Doi Chang, the distance being 30 kilometres.
Useful contacts:
Suanthip Vana Resort (tel: 02-619-0368/9, 053-724-226-9) in Mae Suai can arrange tours to Doi Chang and Doi Wawee.
Doi Chang Agricultural Research Station provides bungalows and tents for rent. Call 053-789-349, 053-789-616 for reservation.
Tambon Wawee Administration Office (tel: 053-605-950, web site: http://www.vavee.com/ ).
Siripan Tea Shop (tel: 053-760-094).
Laolee Resort, Doi Wawee (tel: 053-760151/2).