🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Choui Fong sits in Mae Chan subdistrict, Mae Chan district, north of Chiang Rai town. It's a working plantation of more than 1,000 rai run by Choui Fong Tea, which has been growing and shipping tea for over 40 years. The part visitors come for is the café zone and the viewing deck up top, both open to the public so you can climb up, take photos and sip tea surrounded by tea bushes planted along the contours of the hills.
The terraced tea hills and photo spots
The star here is the tea itself, planted in curving rows that follow the ridgeline — from the café terrace it reads as bands of green stacked one above the other, with mountains beyond. On a clear day the view wraps almost the whole way around, close to 360 degrees. The main photo spots are the stairs and walkways around the café building, plus the grassy lawn out front that faces straight onto the tea.
- The lawn in front of the café — the classic angle that gets both the triangular building and the tea hills as a backdrop.
- The path along the tea rows — walk down close to the bushes for shots of the planted rows running in neat ribbons.
- The upper viewing deck — the highest point, where you see the tea spread out wide and the far line of mountains.
Photo tip
Light is best in the morning before 10am, while the sky is still clear and the heat hasn't set in. Come later in the afternoon and the sun gets harsh and the crowds pick up, which makes clean, empty-looking shots harder to get.
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Booking online ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide is usually cheaper than the gate and skips the queue. Pick only the experiences you actually want — prices and availability are shown live on each site.
The café and the drinks people order most
The Choui Fong café serves drinks and desserts made with tea from the plantation itself, which is the reason a lot of people are willing to make the drive up. Settle in with a hot or iced tea and the tea fields right in front of you. The items that come up most often in reviews are the blended matcha green tea, the honey-lemon tea and the tea-based desserts.
Blended matcha green tea
The café's signature order — strong tea flavour, cold and refreshing, perfect for the mid-morning warmth. It's the glass you'll see most often in reviews.
Honey-lemon tea
A milder iced tea, nicely balanced between sweet and tart, easy to drink even if you don't usually go for strong tea.
Green tea crepe cake
The tea dessert people pair with their drinks — clear green-tea flavour but not overly bitter.
Green tea cake
Soft, fragrant with tea — good for sharing between a few people while you take in the view.
The prices above are rough ranges from reviews and can shift depending on when you go, so check the menu at the counter again on the day. The shop side also sells loose tea, matcha and other tea products to take home.
Opening hours, entry and when to come
- Opening hours — generally open daily from morning to evening, roughly 8:30am–5:30pm (some sources list an earlier start). Check the official page before going on a weekday.
- Entry fee — accounts of the entry fee vary by source and by season; sometimes there's a charge and sometimes it's free. Bring a little cash and ask at the entrance to be sure.
- Best season for the view — the cool season (Nov–Feb) brings cool air, clear skies and deep-green tea, and is also the busiest stretch. The rainy season makes the tea lush and vivid but you're gambling on rain and mist.
Straight talk
Opening hours and entry info for this place change with the season and there are several versions floating around online, so we've kept things to a broad range for now. Before you set off, check Choui Fong's official Facebook page — that's more reliable than locking onto an exact number.
Getting there from Chiang Rai town
Choui Fong is about 50 kilometres from Chiang Rai town, roughly an hour's drive. The simple route is to head out of town toward Mae Chan–Mae Sai (Highway 1) for about 30 kilometres to reach Mae Chan district, then turn onto Highway 1130 and continue around 8 kilometres, following the signs to Choui Fong. The last stretch is an uphill, slightly winding road, but a regular sedan handles it easily.
- Own car / rental — the easiest option, with parking up top. Just open Google Maps and search "Choui Fong Tea Plantation".
- Chartered car / taxi — if you're not driving, charter a car from town for a half day and tack on other Mae Chan stops afterward.
- Pair it with nearby spots — you can work in Doi Tung, the Doi Tung Royal Villa or the Golden Triangle on the same trip.
Plan the rest of a full day in Chiang Rai
See the Chiang Rai travel guide →