The occasion provides visitors with the opportunity of tasting the nectar-like beverage brewed from leaves grown on local plantations. Visitors who enjoy their tea at the festival have the opportunity of buying themselves a pack, or several, of leaves to take home.
On festival evenings, artistes from the seven hilltribe communities living in the locality stage dance and cultural performances. This evening’s New Year Countdown celebration is also set to be a key highlight of the festival.
In addition to the tea-drinking cultural extravaganza, a major draw at Doi Mae Salong over the next month is the opportunity of seeing sakura cherry and white plum trees in flower. Doi Mae Salong was a former stronghold of Kuomintang soldiers who fled China after the Communists took over.
Doi Mae Salong is in the middle of a hilly location in the far north of Thailand and can be reached by local bus or shared songthaew taxi from Chiang Rai, Maechan, Mae Sai and Thaton. 12GO ASIA offer travellers a hassle-free means of buying tickets for travel to Northern Thailand from Bangkok and the south.
Northern Thailand 20th annual tea festival begins
News in Asia
The annual Tea Festival at Northern Thailand’s Doi Mae Salong hill-station began on Monday and will run through until the 2 January 2016. The 20th festival is being staged at the town’s Ban Santi Khiri School.