Swimming in the Chiang Mai Rock Quarries

The what??? That was the answer I got every time I asked a person if they knew how to get to the rock quarry. In a forum on couchsurfing I asked what else there was to do in Chiang Mai or whether there was a nice place to go swimming. Someone recommended the Chiang Mai Rock Quarries to me, a very hidden and unknown gem ca. a 30min car ride south of the city. Tourists never hear of it and most Thais don’t know about it because they didn’t learn how to swim. Below you can read how you can find these pools.

 

 

Directions to the Chiang Mai Rock Quarries

The easiest way to get there is by scooter. We rented one for  150 Bht for 24h, with insurance.

Exit the city at Suan Prung Gate (south) onto Route 108, then turn right at a traffic light after the Big C (supermarket) and/or the sign to Chiang Mai Night Safari. When the road is finished, you reach Highway 121, where you turn left and then follow these directions, which I found on this TravelNorthernThailand.

The Hang Dong rock quarry is about a 40-minute bike / songthaew drive from Chiang Mai, heading south along the canal road highway (Hwy 121) from Huay Kaew road and keep driving until you are about 10 minutes past Hang Dong. Keep your eye out for the green HANG DONG GOLF COURSE sign and turn right on the small bridge directly after the PT gas station on your left-hand side. Follow the road until it forks, and be sure to take the left fork.

 

We first rode a bit too far, had the real dirt road experience on the scooter (no problem for my Australian driver ) and then reached the Canyon restaurant. From there we saw, where we should go. When you first turn onto the small road to the quarry, you really have to turn left at the first fork (there is a sign that says something like Happy Horses). They were building a house on the right side after about 500m and that’s where we parked the scooter.

The view with the orange rocks and green-blue water really did justice to the name “Grand Canyon of Thailand”. We jumped into the water which was so clear, that we could still see our feet when we fully stretched our bodies into the water but you couldn’t see below that because it probably is really deep, so it was just a dark green. The water felt really good though and it was bathtub temperature. Don’t get scared of all the “danger, no swimming signs”. We thought they only put them up because most Thais can’t swim and a few already drowned in the pools.

I could have stayed in it all day long. Too bad we forgot to bring any lunch and therefore had to head back to the city at some point. Perhaps this was good also, because there was no shade down there and even though I used sunscreen twice and sat under my rain umbrella, I got another sunburn.

The Big C supermarket on the way back is a great place to get supplies. I could live in there…So many food stalls and a children’s paradise I’d have liked to go play in also (if it weren’t so overcrowded with children) and all the ice cream shops were too tempting. I had a Japanese lunch box for 49 Bht (the lady in front of me helped me order and showed me the place I had to buy something like a credit card with the cash amount of the food on it.) Paying cashless, on another level.

Have you been to this place recently? Where else have you found a hidden swimming hole like this?