Chiang Mai to Pai by electric car — the 762 curves, honestly

The numbers

• Distance: about 130 km
• Driving time: about 3 hours, not counting stops
• Route: Highway 1095 the entire way
• Bends: 762, and they are numbered — you will see the count on signs and on the famous T-shirts
• Battery used: roughly 45 to 55% of a full charge in our cars, one way

That last figure surprises people. The distance suggests it should use less. Sustained climbing is what does it.

Should you drive it yourself?

Be honest with yourself about two things.

Motion sickness. This road makes a significant number of people ill — including people who are otherwise fine in cars. Three hours of continuous bends is genuinely different from a normal winding road. If anyone in your group is susceptible, they should sit in the front, take something before you leave rather than when they start feeling bad, and you should plan more stops than you think are needed.

Your comfort with mountain driving. The road is well surfaced and not dangerous, but it is unrelenting. There is very little straight road on which to relax. If you have never driven sustained switchbacks, this will be tiring in a way that flat highway driving is not.

If either is a concern, the minibuses run all day and take about the same time. Nobody will judge you. But if you are comfortable driving it, having your own car in Pai is considerably better than not having one — the things worth seeing there are spread out.

The road itself

Highway 1095 leaves Chiang Mai heading north-west through Mae Rim, then climbs into the mountains after Mae Malai.

The first 40 km or so is straightforward. The climbing starts in earnest after that and does not really stop until you drop into the Pai valley. The surface is good throughout — this is a properly maintained national highway, not a track — and it is two lanes with a centre line the whole way.

What makes it demanding is the rhythm: tight left, tight right, repeat, for two hours. Third gear in a manual car; in our automatics you simply leave it alone.

Traffic you will meet: minibuses driving quickly and knowing the road well, motorbikes ridden by visitors who mostly do not, and occasional trucks that will be slow uphill. Overtaking opportunities are limited and short. There is no rush — the difference between an aggressive drive and a relaxed one is about twenty minutes over the whole route.

Charging

Leave Chiang Mai with a full battery. This is not optional planning, it is the plan.

A full charge in either of our cars is comfortably enough to reach Pai with a substantial margin. On arrival you will typically have around 45 to 55% remaining, which is enough to drive around the Pai area for a day or two.

Charging options in Pai itself are limited compared with Chiang Mai. Some accommodation will let you charge slowly from an ordinary socket overnight, which is the most reliable approach — ask when you book your room, not when you arrive. An overnight AC charge is more than enough to get you back.

Check PlugShare before you leave for the current situation on the route and in the town; it changes as new units are installed. Our charging guide covers the apps and the general approach.

The return trip uses noticeably less battery than the outbound one, because the net elevation change works in your favour and regenerative braking recovers charge on the long descents. Do not be alarmed by the outbound consumption figure.

Where to stop

Breaking the drive is worth it both for motion sickness and because the stops are good.

Mae Malai — the last substantial town before the climb, about 40 km out. Fuel, food, toilets. If you need anything, get it here.

The Mok Fa area — waterfalls a short walk off the highway, roughly a third of the way.

Viewpoints on the climb — there are several pull-offs with views back down the valley. They are signposted and have room to park. Use them; they are the reason you are driving rather than taking the bus.

Coffee stops near the top — a number of small cafés have opened along the highest section of the route, most with a view. This is the natural place for a proper break, roughly two hours in.

Pai itself

Pai sits in a valley at about 500 m. It is small — you can walk the main street in fifteen minutes — but the things people come for are not in the town: the canyon, the hot springs, the waterfalls, the viewpoints, the villages up the valley. All of them are 10 to 30 minutes' drive out. This is exactly why having a car there is worth the drive.

Parking in the town centre is tight in the evening when the walking street is on. Park slightly out and walk in.

Timing

Leave in the morning. Two reasons: you want to arrive in daylight, and the road is genuinely better before the afternoon. In the wet season the rain tends to come in the afternoon; in the cool season the morning mist over the ridges is the best part of the drive.

Do not drive it at night on your first attempt. The bends are unlit, the road markings are hard to read in places, and motorbikes without working lights are a real hazard.

Wet season (June to October): the surface holds water on the corners, and mud or gravel washes onto the road. Take the first few bends after rain carefully to see what the road is doing. Landslides occasionally close sections after heavy rain — check before you set off.

Cool season (November to February): the best driving conditions of the year, and the busiest.

Burning season (roughly March to April): air quality in the north deteriorates significantly and the views largely disappear into haze. The road is fine; the reason to go is diminished.

Going further

Pai is the first leg of the Mae Hong Son loop, which continues to Mae Hong Son and returns via Mae Sariang. If you are considering it, read the loop guide — the charging planning for the full loop is a different exercise from a Pai return trip.

Practicalities

Both our cars handle this road well. The ATTO 3 is the more comfortable of the two over three hours and has the boot space for a group. The Dolphin is lighter and slightly more fun through the bends, and easier to park in Pai.

There are police checkpoints on this route. Have your home licence, IDP and passport accessible — see the IDP guide.

Mobile coverage is patchy on the highest sections. Download offline maps before you leave.

And if anything goes wrong — a warning light, a puncture, a charger that will not start — call us. We answer at any hour on 091 072 3336, and we know this road.