Why this ride
curated scenic road. mountains, rice terraces, curving roads. 209 km from Nan to Nan, about 3 h 57 of riding. The stops in between: Pua, Bo Kluea and Santi Suk. The highest point is about 1,700 m. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nan Bo Kluea Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 209 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 57
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Nan Bo Kluea Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 17 km this is Nan Bo Kluea Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Nan Bo Kluea Loop
- Pass
- Doi Phu Kha
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nan
Nan is a small, calm provincial capital in a mountain-ringed valley in the far north of Thailand, close to the Laos border, and it has stayed quieter than Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai. The Nan river runs through the plain, and the old kingdom here was a separate Lanna state with its own princes until the early twentieth century. The temples keep the northern style, with steep roofs, carved gables and gilded flourishes, and the town has the unhurried air of a place that visitors are only beginning to find.
Read the complete Nan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 1 sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 2.
2. Pua
Pua lies in a broad valley in the far north of Thailand, about sixty kilometres from the Laotian border, and in the rainy season the whole basin turns a vivid, almost electric green. The rice fields stretch up to the foothills, with farmhouses on stilts and buffalo grazing along the dykes, and at harvest in November they turn gold. Pua is the market town of the district, and the people include Thai Lue, Hmong and Mien, whose silver jewellery, indigo cloth and embroidered tunics fill the stalls on market days. Chiang Klang, the bigger town fourteen kilometres on, supplies most of the district's fuel and shops.
Read the complete Pua write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 2 comes up 26 km in. Next is Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 3.
3. Near Bo Kluea
High in the Luang Prabang Range, on the road through Doi Phu Kha National Park, the air at around 1,715 metres is cool enough to need a jacket even in the hot season, and in the cool months of December and January it can be properly cold at dawn. The road here runs along ridges and through montane forest of oaks, chestnuts and tall trees draped in moss and orchids, with views across rolling blue ranges towards Laos, only a few dozen kilometres to the east. It is one of the highest and most remote roads in northern Thailand.
Read the complete Near Bo Kluea write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 64 km in you reach Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 3. Next is Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 4.
4. Bo Kluea
Bo Kluea means salt well, and the name is the whole story. In a narrow mountain valley close to the Laotian border, ancient springs push up brine from deep underground, and for centuries villagers have boiled it down in shallow pans over wood fires to make salt. They still do. The salt was once traded far into the hills and across the river to Laos, and the village was an important stop on the caravan routes. Today the brine wells sit beside the road, surrounded by stalls selling the grey-white crystals, along with local honey, dried mushrooms and woven cloth. Chiang Klang is the nearest large town, thirty-five kilometres back.
Read the complete Bo Kluea write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 4, about halfway. Next is Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 5.
5. Near Santi Suk
North-east of Nan city, the hills begin in earnest, and the district of Santi Suk is where the flat farmland of the Nan valley gives way to the forested ridges that run towards Bo Kluea and the Lao border. The country here is a patchwork of rice paddies in the valley bottoms, corn fields on the slopes, and patches of forest on the ridges, with small villages of wooden houses on stilts. The landscape is green in the rainy season and brown and smoky in the dry months, when farmers burn their fields.
Read the complete Near Santi Suk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 5 sits at 105 km, late in the day. Next is Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 6.
6. Nan
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nan Bo Kluea Loop point 6 comes up 209 km in.
More motorcycle rides nearby
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