The 7th annual ‘Colours of Doi Tung’ Festival in Chiang Rai province will take place each weekend and on public holidays from 08.00 – 18.00 Hrs. throughout the two months of December and January, from this Saturday, 5 December, 2020, to Sunday, 31 January 2021.
Colours of Doi Tung offers various activities and opportunities to appreciate the picturesque countryside and to experience the local culture of the six ethnic tribes who have lived in the region’s hills for centuries – the Akha, Lahu, Tai Yai, Lue, Lawa and Chinese. Along with displays of dancing and entertainment, there is shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables, handmade arts and crafts, as well as delicious local snacks to try at the Doi Tung Market, Thailand’s highest walking street-style market.
The popular festival is held at the Doi Tung Development Project located about 60 km from Chiang Rai town and nestled amid the fertile landscape of Doi Tung, which soars some 1,630 metres above sea level. Covering an area of some 15,000 hectares and benefitting well over 10,000 people from 29 villages, the Doi Tung Development Project is a flagship project of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which was established in 1988 by the HRH the Princess Mother.
Festival-goers can also make a visit to the Doi Tung Royal Villa and Mae Fah Luang Garden, the beloved Northern retreat of HRH the Princess Mother where she lived for many years. The area here reminded her of Switzerland where she had lived earlier for a time, and the Villa’s design is much like that of a Swiss chalet with a touch of Lanna style. The gardens around the Villa were a pride and joy of HRH the Princess Mother, and they remain meticulously tended boasting various flower species along with ornamental rocks, running streams and ponds.