Eleven subdistricts, and how far each one really is
Mae Rim is a district (amphoe) immediately north of Chiang Mai city. Chiang Mai Provincial Immigration publishes its own area of responsibility district by district — making it the authority on both questions that matter to someone moving here, which tambon an address is in and which office handles its paperwork — and it names eleven tambon in Mae Rim:
Rim Tai · Rim Nuea · San Pong · Khi Lek · Saluang · Huai Sai · Mae Raem · Pong Yaeng · Mae Sa · Don Kaeo · Mueang Kaeo.
The distances below are each subdistrict’s own published figure, not something measured off a map. That matters, because “Mae Rim” in a listing headline covers a range of places, some of them close in and some of them properly rural:
| Subdistrict | Its own published position or size |
|---|---|
| Rim Tai | Where the district office sits (Community Development Department, Mae Rim district) |
| Mae Raem | About 4 km from the district office, in the middle of the district (Mae Raem Municipality) |
| Khi Lek | About 9 km from the district office; about 17 km from the Chiang Mai provincial government centre (Khi Lek Municipality) |
| Rim Nuea | 2,721.25 rai, or 5.074 sq km, across five villages (Rim Nuea Municipality) |
| Pong Yaeng | Mountainous, with part of its area inside Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Mae Sa (Pong Yaeng subdistrict administration) |
A small honest gap: two government sources give the Mae Rim district office the same location in Rim Tai but name its road differently — Chiang Mai–Fang Road on the Community Development Department’s Mae Rim page, Chotana Road on the Government Contact Centre’s entry. We could not obtain a road-authority document reconciling the two, so both are given and neither is asserted to be the other. Either name will find the office. Stock and buildings sit on the Mae Rim area page.
The district ends inside a national park - and that has two consequences
Pong Yaeng’s own subdistrict administration states that part of its area falls within Doi Suthep–Pui National Park and Mae Sa. This is not scenery trivia. It changes two practical things.
First, the land question. Protected land is not ordinary land, and what may be built, held, leased or transferred on or beside it is a matter of Thai law with real consequences. That is a question for a Thai lawyer and the Land Department — not for a listing description, and not for us. BAANLYY LLC is a listing portal and gives no legal advice.
Second, the gate fee. If the hills above your house are inside the park, walking into them has a published price. Under the Department of National Parks regulation of 2564, in force from 7 June 2565, Doi Suthep–Pui sits in the department’s first fee band:
| Who | Published entry rate (DNP fee band 1) |
|---|---|
| Thai adult | 20 baht |
| Thai child | 10 baht |
| Foreign adult | 100 baht |
| Foreign child | 50 baht |
| Car (four wheels) | 30 baht |
| Motorbike | 20 baht |
Source and its limits: the Department of National Parks’ own announcement of the fee bands set by its 2564 regulation, in force 7 June 2565, read 6 September 2026. The Thai and foreign rates differ and we state both plainly because that is what the regulation says. A later regulation can change any of these, so confirm at the gate rather than treating a 2565 band as today’s price.
The garden everyone asks about - and the number we will not print
The Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden is in Mae Raem, in this district, and it is run by the Botanical Garden Organization rather than by a private operator. It is the single most-asked-about place in Mae Rim.
The organisation’s own site would not open to an automated request on 6 September 2026, and the figures visible for it through search indexes contradicted each other — 40 baht and 50 baht both appear, attached to different labels, alongside a separate guided-tour service charge. An unresolved contradiction is not a fact, and we would rather print nothing than print the wrong one of two numbers. Check the gate or the garden’s own site before you go.
This is the same standard the rest of this site applies to fees: where a number is a thing a reader will act on, it comes from the body that sets it or it does not appear.
No train, a school run, and a lot of driving
There is no metro and no skytrain anywhere in Chiang Mai province, and Mae Rim is an outer district of houses, land and hillside. Plan on a vehicle from day one.
The thing that organises life here for many foreign families is a school. Prem International School gives its own address as 234 Moo 3, Huay Sai, Mae Rim, Chiang Mai 50180 — Huai Sai being one of the district’s eleven subdistricts. So the school sits inside Mae Rim rather than in the city, and a noticeable share of what is advertised to rent here is described by its distance from it. That is a real advantage if your children are there and a real cost if they are not: the school run is short, and everything else in your week is a drive into the city.
Compare the schooling picture across the city on schools in Chiang Mai and international schools in Thailand. For how the city itself moves, see getting around Chiang Mai.
The air. Higher up is not the same as cleaner
People move north out of the city partly for the air, and the honest answer is that we cannot tell you it works.
We publish no PM2.5 number for Mae Rim. A PM2.5 value is a reading taken at one monitoring station at one hour; it is not a property of a district. And in the northern burning season, being further out and higher up does not reliably mean cleaner air — agricultural burning is not a city phenomenon you leave behind by driving north. We also publish no burning-ban dates: the Chiang Mai provincial announcement could not be obtained from the province’s own site on 6 September 2026.
Use the Pollution Control Department’s live station readings, for the months you actually intend to be here. Our Chiang Mai air quality page and the national picture in air quality in Thailand cover how to read them. Then ask about the specific house: what the glazing is, whether the rooms close properly, and what filtration would cost to run in the rooms you sleep and work in.
What it costs - and why the rental market is so thin
Three kinds of figure exist, worth very different amounts, and the source sits under the number every time.
BAANLYY carried no Mae Rim listings at all when this page was checked on 6 September 2026. So there is no band of ours to publish, and we will not reprint someone else’s average as though we had measured it.
2. What the Thai state publishes — not estimates, and worth more than any portal average:
| Official figure | What it is, and what it is not |
|---|---|
| Land and building appraisal value (Department of Lands / Treasury Department) | The state's own valuation for a specific plot or unit, searchable by the public. The basis for transfer taxes and fees - not a market price, and usually below one. In a district that is mostly land, this is the figure to pull |
| REIC housing and condominium price indices | The Real Estate Information Center's quarterly indices, published by the Government Housing Bank. Directional only; the detailed series sit behind REIC membership |
3. A dated survey of what is advertised elsewhere. The weakest of the three, and labelled as such. Read on DDproperty on 6 September 2026:
| What DDproperty showed on 6 September 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Properties advertised for rent in Mae Rim | 29 |
| The same count for Hang Dong, on the other side of the city | 146 |
| Properties advertised for sale in Mae Rim | 107 |
| First-page asking rents, houses | About 29,000-90,000 baht a month |
| First-page asking rents, plots offered on long lease | About 4,000-6,000 baht a month |
| First-page asking prices | Land from about 3,800,000 baht; houses and villas about 6,300,000 to 35,000,000 baht |
Twenty-nine advertised rentals is not a gap in our research. It is the finding. Mae Rim’s portal rental stock is roughly a fifth the size of Hang Dong’s and skews to large, expensive houses. If you want something modest here, expect to find it through local agents and word of mouth rather than a search page, and expect to wait for it.
Source and its limits: DDproperty, read 6 September 2026 — asking prices on one portal on one day, not achieved prices, not an average, not our measurement. We name the portal deliberately: Hipflat, FazWaz and thailand-property.com all draw on one underlying database, so three of those agreeing is one source agreeing with itself. On the land listings: whether and how a foreign national may hold land or a long lease in Thailand is a question of Thai law with real consequences — take it to a Thai lawyer, not to a listing description. Then negotiate on the specific property and read how deposits work here.
What is wrong with Mae Rim
Every neighbourhood guide should have this section and most do not. These are the real trade-offs.
| The problem | Why it happens |
|---|---|
| The rental market is genuinely small | 29 advertised rentals on 6 September 2026, against 146 in Hang Dong. Less choice, slower search, weaker negotiating position |
| What is advertised skews expensive | First-page asking rents ran to 90,000 baht a month. The modest end of this market is not on the portals |
| Everything except the school is a drive | No train in the province, an outer district, and hillside roads. Budget vehicle time into every week |
| Part of the district is protected land | Pong Yaeng's own administration places some of its area inside Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Mae Sa. Land questions there need a Thai lawyer before an offer, not after |
| Moving north does not reliably escape the smoke | Burning season is regional and agricultural. Check the live station data for your months rather than trusting elevation |
We make no flooding claim for Mae Rim: no Thai government drainage or flood document naming this district was obtained, and the absence of a document is not evidence of an absence of risk. Check the specific property with our flood-risk checklist and the city view on Chiang Mai flood risk.
Who Mae Rim suits
| Suits you if | Look elsewhere if |
|---|---|
| Your children are at school in the district, and the school run is the journey that matters most | You need choice and speed in a rental search - the advertised stock here is thin |
| You are buying land or a house and will take the land question to a Thai lawyer first | You want a condominium unit; this is a land-and-house district |
| You want hills, space and quiet, and you drive | Your work and social life are in the Old City or Nimman and you would commute in daily |
| You will check the air data for your own months rather than assuming elevation solves it | You cannot manage a season of poor air, in which case the district is not the variable - the calendar is |
Neighbouring guides: living in Hang Dong on the other side of the city, and living in Nimman or living in Santitham for the walkable inner districts.
Frequently asked questions
Mae Rim is a district (amphoe) of Chiang Mai province immediately north of the city, running from the valley floor up into the hills. Chiang Mai Provincial Immigration publishes eleven tambon for it: Rim Tai, Rim Nuea, San Pong, Khi Lek, Saluang, Huai Sai, Mae Raem, Pong Yaeng, Mae Sa, Don Kaeo and Mueang Kaeo. The district office is in Rim Tai. Useful anchors, each published by the subdistrict itself rather than measured off a map: Mae Raem sits about 4 kilometres from the district office, and Khi Lek about 9 kilometres from it and about 17 kilometres from the Chiang Mai provincial government centre.
Part of it is. Pong Yaeng subdistrict's own administration states that some of its area falls within Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and Mae Sa. That has two consequences worth knowing before you fall in love with a hillside view. First, protected land is not ordinary land, and what may be built, held or transferred on or beside it is a question for a Thai lawyer and the Land Department, not for a listing description. Second, the park has a published gate fee: under the Department of National Parks regulation of 2564, in force from 7 June 2565, Doi Suthep-Pui sits in the department's first fee band - 20 baht for a Thai adult and 10 for a Thai child, 100 baht for a foreign adult and 50 for a foreign child, plus 30 baht for a car or 20 for a motorbike. Fees can be changed by a later regulation, so confirm at the gate.
Because it is a small and unusual market, and that is a fact worth stating rather than padding around. When we read DDproperty on 6 September 2026 it showed 29 properties for rent in Mae Rim, against 146 in Hang Dong on the other side of the city - about a fifth as many. What is advertised also skews large and expensive: first-page asking rents ran from about 29,000 to 90,000 baht a month for houses, alongside a couple of plots offered on long lease at 4,000 to 6,000 baht a month. If you want a modest rental here, expect to find it through local agents and word of mouth rather than a portal, and expect to wait.
It is one of the main reasons people choose it. Prem International School's own contact page gives its address as 234 Moo 3, Huay Sai, Mae Rim, Chiang Mai 50180 - Huai Sai being one of the district's eleven subdistricts - so the school sits inside Mae Rim rather than in the city. That shapes the local rental market: a noticeable share of what is advertised is described by its distance from the school. The trade-off is the one every Mae Rim family makes, which is that a school run in the district is short and everything else is a drive.
We will not put a number on it. A PM2.5 figure is a reading taken at one monitoring station at one hour - it is not a property of a district, and being further from the city and higher up does not reliably mean cleaner air during the northern burning season. The Pollution Control Department publishes live station readings for Chiang Mai, and that is the source to use, for the specific months you plan to be here. We also publish no burning-ban dates: the Chiang Mai provincial announcement could not be obtained from the province's own site on 6 September 2026, and news reports of ban dates are not the announcement itself. Do not read our silence as reassurance.
Ready to look at actual properties?
Mae Rim’s stock sits on the area page. Bring three questions: which tambon, whether any part of the plot touches protected land, and what the drive into the city really takes.
General information only, not legal, tax, health or relocation advice. BAANLYY LLC is a Nevada company and a listing portal: it does not own, lease, manage or control any property listed on this site and is not a party to any lease or sale. Administrative boundaries, protected-area status, published fees, transport arrangements, air quality and rents change; confirm anything you intend to act on directly with the landlord, the operator and the relevant Thai authority, and take land and lease questions to a Thai lawyer. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
Sources
- Area of responsibility (districts and subdistricts of Chiang Mai) — Chiang Mai Provincial Immigration ↗Immigration Bureau, Royal Thai Police · Accessed 6 September 2026
- Community Development Department (district offices), Ministry of Interior, Thailand ↗
- National park entry-fee bands under the 2564 regulation (in force 7 June 2565) — Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation ↗Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation · Accessed 6 September 2026
- Pollution Control Department (Air4Thai), Thailand ↗
- Land and building appraisal-value lookup — Department of Lands & Treasury Department ↗Department of Lands and Treasury Department, Kingdom of Thailand · Accessed 6 September 2026
- Real Estate Information Center (REIC), Government Housing Bank, Thailand ↗
Official primary sources are listed above with the date we last checked them. Thai rules, fees, thresholds and procedures change and can be applied differently by individual offices and embassies — confirm the current requirement with the responsible authority before relying on it. General information only, not legal, tax or medical advice. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.