Sankampaeng Hot Springs, Chiang Mai

22:23 Amy 0 Comments

Sankampaeng hot springs is a great day trip from Chiang Mai. Water that rushes from the ground at 105 degrees Celsius has been harnessed to provide an attraction with a surprising number of things to do.

This blog post contains our review, what you can get up to there and essential information right at the bottom.

I really loved this place!  Perfect for a day trip, or even a half day if you don't want to linger. The swirling steam is magical, and the sulphur water is supposed to make you feel as strong as a superhero. Weirdly and awesomely, boiling eggs is a huge attraction at Sankampaeng hot springs. Bet you've never been somewhere specifically to boil an egg before!

We drove our motorbike to the springs. It's a beautiful drive once you get off the busy main roads, through woodland, rice paddies and past villages. If you see a road that looks interesting, just drive down it - you never know what you'll find. We saw this looming statue when we decided to explore some of the villages nearby... it was huge and terrifying. If anyone reading this knows why this statue is in a tiny village full of dogs in the middle of nowhere, let me know in the comments section.



When you get to Sankampaeng hot springs, park up. There's an area for cars and one for motorbikes. It costs 10 baht to leave your motorbike with a friendly guard. Then, go and buy a ticket (details at bottom). When you have bought it, you walk through the umbrella arch into a pretty, shady park full of flowers and trees. They are currently upgrading the park, but it's still really nice. I can't wait to see it finished. They must spend of a lot of time keeping the flower gardens so beautiful. There's a child's playground and a strange mushroom / fertility statue.

There are three popular things to do at Sankampaeng hot springs.

#1 Soak your legs and feet in the hot spring water

#2 Boil an egg in the water at the source

#3 Take lots of selfies with steam rising up behind you

To soak your legs and feet, head over to the hot spring watercourse, sit on the edge of the 'canal' and dip your feet in the hot sulphur-y water that supposedly has healing properties. Many Thai people go here regularly to heal and rejuvenate their bodies. The water cools the further away it gets from the source. We decided to dip our legs in quite close to the source and it turned my legs bright red. I had a line where the water stopped - and it took ages to go away, it was still there at dinner time!

If you don't know how to boil an egg, don't panic. There are handy instructions. Buy your eggs and egg-boiling-basket from one of the many vendors, and hang it on one of the hooks just above the water in one of the two pools at the source, so the eggs are submerged. Wait for your egg to cook, retrieve it and eat it. Lovely!

We aren't very good at taking selfies, but we did try for a while to get the perfect steamy shot (no, not that kind of steamy, tsch).

The people there were mostly Thai families. The men and women would sit and soak their legs whilst the kids playing in the cooler pool at the end of the canal, or in the bigger pool behind it.

There are other things to do. You can pay 50 baht to swim in a pool filled with the spring water, or rent your own bathhouse (private, mixed sex group or same sex group). You can get a Thai massage, too.

Food and drink

You can get more than eggs at Sankampaeng hot springs. There's various BBQed items available (I had chicken on a stick) and snacks. We had cheap (15B) ice cream in a cone - it was so nice. There was a restaurant but it looked closed.

You should definitely try one of the herbal or fruit juices, served from the traditional big Thai earthenware pots. I had 'red floral drink'. I thought it was lovely and refreshing . Andy thought it was gross and had a coffee. There's lots of different flavours to try.

Map of directions from Chiang Mai

How to get to Sankampaeng hot springs on a motorbike or in a car
From Chiang Mai city centre, drive up Changphuak road onto the superhighway. Take the first entrance to the Superhighway proper from the frontage road (they run alongside each other). After you've crossed the bridge, take the first exit back onto the frontage road. Follow the superhighway frontage road round, past route 1006, till you turn off onto route 1317. Follow route 1317. Drive past the signs saying Sankampaeng. After about 40km you'll see a bunch of signs for the hot springs. Follow them by turning left. After a couple of km, the road forks and there's a big yellow sign. Turn right. Drive for about 500 yards till you see the carpark.

How to get to Sankampaeng hot springs without own transport
Pop into any tourist centre and they can arrange it for you, or flag down a red car. You might have to flag down a few.

Entry fee and other prices

Tourist price: 40 baht per adult, 20 baht per child.

Thai price: 20 baht per adult, 10 baht per child.

If you have a Thai work permit or driving licence, show it to get the Thai price. We did and it worked fine.

Motorbike parking: 10 baht.

Mineral swimming pool: 50 baht

I don't know the opening hours, but it probably closes late afternoon.

Staying overnight at Sankampaeng hot springs

If you want to stay overnight near the hot springs and spend hours soaking in your own private spring water bath, stay at Burilasai Hot Spring Resort and Spa. It's the best place to stay in the area that has spring water baths in the bathrooms. The bungalows are much bigger than the cottages.