Is the most mountainous province in Thailand, with approximately 90% of terrain being jungle and thick forest
Mae Hong Son is the least denselypopulated province in Thailand with a population of approximately 250,000. Approximately 60% of the population is made up of hilltribe groups such as the Karen, Lawa, Hmong and Lahu, with the 'Shan' (an ethnic minority group who originate from Southern China) making up most of the remainder
The Mae Hong Son Loop - a popular route for travelers to explore the province, is a600km circuit that starts from Chiang Mai and goes through Mae Sariang, Mae Hong Son capital, and Pai
The Mae Hong Son Loop claims to have 1,864 curves
Mae Hon Son is the 8th largest province in Thailand (there are 76 provinces in Thailand)
Mae Hong Son has a small Muslim community who are mostly made up ofdescendants of migrants from Bangladesh who then crossed over to Myanmar then Thailand
Due to its wild and remote location, it was previously known as the ‘Siberia of Thailand' and a place where unfavourable government officials were transferred to
In the 19th Century Mae Hong Son became famed as an elephant training area, where the Royal family in Chiang Mai hired Shan people to capture wild elephants and train them in the mountainous terrain and Jong Kham Lake (today a main tourist attraction in the center of Mae Hong Son town) was the bathing spot. The old name of Mae Hong Son was ‘Mae Rong Son’ which means ‘a place suitable for elephant warfare training'
Mae Hong Son’s vast natural reserves of teak wood made it a boom town for teak logging until this was outlawed in the early 20th century when it became evident teak was being depleted. Now it is illegal to fell teak wood trees, and the government is trying to conserve this resource through growing teak plantations many of which can be seen from the main road on the the Mae Hong Son Loop
Mae Hong Son is called the ‘land of 3 mists’ due to the year round mist. During the summer months there is cloud from forest fires, during the rainy season there is a wet mist and during winter season there is a foggy mist
