Royal Park Rajapruek

My mom and I were visiting Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. After spending two fun and exhausting days at the Elephant Nature Park, we were back in the city with a free morning. We had big plans for the evening but decided to spend the morning at the Royal Park Rajapruek (Rajapruek is the national flower of Thailand), a royal botanical gardens located about half an hour from the Chiang Mai Old City.

Established in 2006 by His Majesty King Bhumibol (Rama IX) and the highland Research and Development Institute, the Royal Park is a botanical garden dedicated to the research, preservation, cultivation, and display of the biodiversity and culture of northern Thailand.

northern-style lanterns

The weather in Chiang Mai and throughout northern Thailand is cooler and drier than in the central, southern, or northeastern regions, and the plants that grow in the north are a bit different as well. While it wasn't exactly cold that morning, the air was pleasant and not too hot or humid.

There's a free hop-on-hop-off electric shuttle cart that takes visitors in a loop around the whole park.

First, we rode the shuttle on the full 20-minute loop to see the entire 200-hectare park and decide which parts we were most interested in walking to.

a lotus pond

Mom was especially interested in visiting the orchid pavilion. Queen Sirikit and Princess Sirindhorn both really like orchids, and the beautiful flowers, which are native to the Thai tropics, are often featured at royal events.

Thai orchids

Here, dozens of varieties of orchid in as many different colors were in full bloom.

I really liked a very exotic-looking vine called Red Jade.

red jade vine

If possible, I'd like to try to grow this unique red vine in Bangkok. Recently, I've been wanting to get into gardening, and this looks like a fun one to grow at home.

There was also a pavilion dedicated entirely to shade plants: ferns, vines, and jungle flowers that prefer to be hidden beneath a leafy canopy. These tropical plants thrive in the deep jungles of Thailand.

the shade pavilion

Another area was dedicated to growing roses. Although it wasn't quite the right season for them, many of the plants were still in bloom.

roses

While you can take the electric cart around the park, or rent a golf cart or bicycle for yourself, we preferred to get around by foot. It's really not too big to walk, and walking allows you to explore all of the amazing sites throughout the park: bug world, shaded paradise, orchid paradise, the soilless greenhouse, the desert plant greenhouse, the hemp and cannabis greenhouse (cannabis was fully legalized in Thailand earlier this year, and the government is really leaning into it), the eco farmhouse, the herbal pavilion. and more.

exploring the park

The most outstanding feature is the Royal Pavilion, a magnificent traditional Thai pagoda structure built on top of a hill and visible throughout the park. The pavilion is so beautiful and recognizable that it's often displayed on airline and tourist information advertisements for Chiang Mai.

The Royal Pavilion is dedicated to King Mongkut (Rama IV). Built in a traditional Thai style with northern Lanna elements, the pavilion would technically be considered as a chapel, not a temple, as it does not have its own resident monks.

The inside of the pavilion was decorated with elaborately lacquered pillars, mirror-polished green floor tiles, and red and black celestial murals to rival that of the Buddhaisawan Chapel at the Front Palace in Bangkok.

In traditional Thai art, red is meant to represent emptiness or space, so the interior of the chapel is meant to artistically reflect mountain peaks set against heaven and the celestial realms,

By early afternoon, we were tired and hungry. There's a Royal Projects Kitchen at the park - a restaurant which uses the fresh produce and food from the various royal projects and helps support the development of the nation under the auspices of the Royal Household Bureau. We stopped in for a blueberry smoothie (for Mom), an iced mocha (for me), and a delicious northern-style lunch of chicken curry and spicy minced pork salad.

I'm really glad we had the chance to see this remarkable park. This wasn't the typical sort of place I would have visited on my own, but my mom was really interested in seeing it, so we deiced to go. I really love traveling with my mom. She encourages me to see and do the types of things I might not normally see and do, yet I'm happier for having seen and done them.

What an awesome way to spend a morning!