🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Ask anyone from Paet Riu what their town is known for and the first answer is usually mango. They've been growing it here long enough to become one of Thailand's biggest mango-exporting areas. The soil along the Bang Pakong River and the local climate give the fruit firm flesh and bold flavour, with more varieties to choose from than you'd expect — from sweet ones eaten ripe to tart green ones dipped in chilli-salt. This article runs through what each variety is like, where to buy, which orchards let you pick your own, and where to find processed treats like dried and candied mango.
Chachoengsao Mango Varieties Worth Knowing
Paet Riu grows dozens of mango varieties, but only a handful turn up often and actually sell well. We've ordered them by popularity and how easy they are to find, and flagged which are eaten ripe and which are eaten green.
Nam Dok Mai (Si Thong / Number 4)
The star of Paet Riu. Long oval fruit with smooth skin that turns bright golden yellow when ripe, with fine, firm, fibre-free flesh and a gentle floral sweetness. This is the one most people take home and the one that gets exported. It pairs best with sweet sticky rice.
Khiao Sawoei
The green-eating variety people get hooked on — crisp, dry, pale-yellow flesh with a nutty taste and a hint of sour. Works with chilli-salt or sweet fish sauce with dried shrimp. The fruit is big and good-looking, and easy to find at stalls and markets all over town.
Ok Rong
An old-school variety the older generation loves. Smaller than Nam Dok Mai, with a groove down the middle. Ripe, it's intensely sweet with a distinctive fragrance. Comes in green and golden types, and has been the classic match for sweet sticky rice for ages.
Raed
Named for the bump at the tip of the fruit that looks like a rhino horn (raed means rhino). You can eat it at several stages: green it's sour and crisp, well-aged the flavour gets more complex, and fully ripe it turns sweet and fragrant. Locals like it well-aged, dipped in sweet fish sauce.
Fa Lan
White flesh, firm and crunchy, with an audible snap when you bite. People like it with sweet fish sauce and dried shrimp — a nutty green mango you can keep eating without it getting cloying.
Sam Ruedu / Kaeo Khamin
A group of varieties that fruit almost year-round, so you don't have to wait for mango season. Small to medium fruit — Sam Ruedu is eaten fresh or candied, while Kaeo Khamin has yellow flesh even while still green and is the one processing plants buy most. Come outside mango season and these two are what you'll usually find.
Picking a good mango
Good Nam Dok Mai has taut, smooth skin with no bruising. If you're eating it within a day or two, choose ones already turning a creamy yellow. If you're carrying it far, tell the seller which day you plan to eat it and they'll pick fruit that ripens right on time — otherwise everything may ripen at once by the time you get home.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Chachoengsao food tour or cooking class
Half a day with a local who knows the lanes — or cooking a dish yourself — teaches you more than just eating. Book ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide.
Where to Buy — Markets and Roadside Stalls
The main action is on the Bang Khla side and along Highway 304 (Chachoengsao–Kabin Buri). In mango season both sides of the road turn into a long string of mango stalls, clearly cheaper than buying in Bangkok because they come straight from the orchards.
Bang Khla Mango Market (Highway 304)
A cluster of roadside mango stalls along the Chachoengsao–Kabin Buri road in the Bang Khla area, with several varieties to taste and compare prices. Open daily from around 8am to evening, with the most fruit during mango season.
Paet Riu Mango Growers' Co-op / Enterprise
A sales point run by the local mango-growers' group, taking fruit straight from member orchards. Has both export-grade and eat-at-home grade — a good bet if you want quality Nam Dok Mai at a fair price.
Pa Lek Sothon Mango Shop
A mango and souvenir shop in the Wat Sothon area selling Nam Dok Mai, Khiao Sawoei, Raed and candied mango. An easy stop when you're visiting Luang Pho Sothon.
U-Pick Mango Orchards
If you want more of an experience than buying at a stall, the Khlong Khuean and Bang Khla areas have orchards that let you walk in and pick your own. The best window is March to May when the trees are loaded. Always call the orchard before you go, since picking rounds depend on that year's weather.
Lung Amnat Mango Orchard (Khlong Khuean)
An orchard in Khlong Khuean sub-district, Khlong Khuean district, growing Khiao Sawoei, Nam Dok Mai and Raed. Visitors can come in and pick mangoes off the tree. Open roughly 8am to evening — call ahead to arrange your visit.
Orchards around Bang Khla
Around Bang Khla there are several small orchards that sell at the gate and sometimes open up for a wander. Ask the stalls at the Bang Khla mango market which orchards are open to visitors at the time.
Before you head to an orchard
Most of these are working farms, not full-blown tourist orchards. Call ahead to check the picking round and prices before you drive out, wear shoes you can walk an orchard in, and bring cash — many places don't take cards.
Dried & Candied Mango — Souvenirs That Keep
The nice thing about processed mango is that you can buy it year-round and it travels far easier than fresh fruit. Paet Riu does this well because it has so much surplus mango after the season, so it has become a souvenir you can find all over town.
- Mango leather (mamuang kuan) — ripe mango cooked down until chewy and sticky, sweet with a hint of sour, in sheets or rolls. Keeps a long time and is a popular souvenir.
- Candied mango — green mango pickled and candied, crisp and sweet-salty, in long sticks for dipping in chilli-salt or diced cubes. Moreish snacking.
- Dried mango — mango dried until soft and chewy, naturally sweet and easy to carry — a good souvenir for the office.
- Woraporn processed fruit — Paet Riu's big fruit-processing brand, with candied mango and dried mango leather in pocket-sized packs. Found at souvenir shops, and some formats are even sold in 7-Eleven.
Mango Season — When There's the Most Fruit
Paet Riu's main mango season is March to May, with the real peak from late March into April and on through May. That's when fruit is plentiful, prices are good, and you get the full range of varieties. Come outside the season and you can still find the near year-round types like Sam Ruedu and Kaeo Khamin, plus the processed treats that are around all year.
Timing it right
If you want a full spread of Nam Dok Mai and Ok Rong at good prices, aim for April to early May, when many orchards harvest at once and stalls drop prices to compete. Come on a weekend and the Bang Khla market is lively, but the fruit sells out faster — get there early for the best-looking ones.
Plan a full day of eating and exploring around Paet Riu
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