Singha Park Chiang Rai: Tea Fields, Farm Food and Outdoor Activities

Tea helped give Singha Park a new direction after its early barley-growing ambitions ran into problems. The estate southwest of Chiang Rai now combines agricultural land, a farm tram, restaurants and outdoor recreation.

The farm behind the tea fields

Boon Rawd Farm belonged to the business behind Singha beer. Experiments with brewing barley struggled because short winters and unpredictable weather made both the quantity and quality unsuitable. Other crops developed alongside it, and oolong became an important output. By 2013, the remaining barley was being used in malted drinks and food products rather than fulfilling the original brewing ambition.

The present company, Singha Park Chiang Rai Co., Ltd., dates its establishment to 1993. That is a different milestone from the late-2012 change of the farm’s name to Singha Park, when visitor tours were in a trial phase. Tea processing had already developed, with a factory established around 2003. Santi Bhirombhakdi’s stated aim was to bring agriculture, nature and the community together in a farm that visitors could access. In 2013, most of the farm’s workforce came from Chiang Rai.

At the entrance, the golden figure is a statue of a mythological lion called a singha, referring to the park’s name. It is an entrance landmark, not a live-lion exhibit. The farm programme promises neither a brewery visit nor beer tasting.

Tea in the field and in the cup

In 2013, the estate included about 96 hectares of tea, only part of its agricultural land. The tea planting has been associated with Jin Xuan, a Taiwanese cultivar also called Oolong No. 12. Cultivar and processing describe different things: Jin Xuan names the plant variety; oolong describes a tea made with partial oxidation. Oxidation changes the leaves’ chemistry during processing, helping develop the finished tea’s aroma and flavour.

The producer also makes Assam-based Thai tea blends. These are a different product choice from a straight oolong, and the wider branded range is not proof that every ingredient grew in the rows in front of you. I would use a tasting to compare those choices, then look at the blend, ingredients and stated origin on the packet before buying. Ask which tea you are drinking and how to prepare it at home; a name on the café menu and a bag on the shelf may describe different recipes.

Tea tasting samples a prepared drink; blending combines teas or ingredients. Both are advertised: ask about dates, reservations, contents and fees. Costumes and tea baskets have also been offered as photograph props. Those props do not confer permission to pick leaves. A processing demonstration or factory visit needs its own explicit arrangement.

The wider farm has grown jujubes and strawberries, and seasonal visits have included melon-growing houses. Growing a crop, selling its fruit and offering visitors a supervised picking session are separate things. Stay on authorised paths and leave leaves, flowers and fruit untouched unless staff have included picking in the activity.

Cosmos and yellow sunn hemp are among the seasonal flower displays. Plantings change, and some periods bring green or unflowering plots rather than the bright fields in publicity photographs. If a particular bloom matters to your trip, ask what is flowering now. Use the available light. Photograph the tea rows, lake and entrance sculpture as you find them, rather than trying to reproduce a different season.

Choui Fong is a separate tea plantation and café destination in Mae Chan. Singha Park adds a wider farm-and-recreation circuit. I would choose by the group’s interests and the day’s geography. Services at either need their own confirmation.

Food from the farm

Bhu Bhirom’s northern Thai, or Lanna, cooking uses vegetables and fruit from the farm and surrounding communities. Tea can reach the plate too: the restaurant’s listed dishes include a fried fresh-tea-leaf salad. A tuna salad with fresh farm tea leaves has also featured on its menu. Treat those as dishes to look for, with the current menu deciding what is available.

Bhu Bhirom overlooks the tea-growing landscape and lists daily hours of 11am–10pm. I would give it time as a sit-down meal rather than try to finish lunch during a brief tram pause. For a late table, establish the kitchen’s last orders; for a group or busy date, ask about reservations. Discuss allergies and dietary needs directly, since the dish name may not reveal every ingredient.

Barn House Pizzeria and Trattoria serves pizza and pasta, including a listed sai ua sausage spaghetti. It can suit a group whose appetites differ.

Thai Tea Shop (Cha Thai café), on the slope towards Bhu Bhirom, serves tea and desserts with plantation views. The airplane food-and-drink area by Red Barn House lists 4–9pm daily. Both allow private cars for a meal-only visit. Say how sweet you would like the drink when ordering. Evening dining does not extend daytime activities.

Department of Tea is at Mae Fah Luang University’s M-Square, outside Singha Park. Check the café name before following directions, especially if you are trying to meet someone within the estate. Tea, fruit products and jams are among the farm’s souvenir offerings. Choose from the current stock.

Around the farm

The roughly 12.8-square-kilometre figure describes the whole estate, not one visitor circuit. Distant stops can mean tiring walks in heat. Ordinary entry is free; the tram, rentals, paid activities, purchases and ticketed events have separate costs. An entrance photograph and a tour of the inner farm therefore need different budgets.

The electric farm tram has five advertised stops: Swan Lake for fish feeding and farm products; tea tasting and Flower Bloom; Mini Zoo; Red Barn House for sports and rentals; and Thai Tea Shop. Confirm essential stops are open, and extra feed or workshop charges.

Taking the farm tram

The information and ticket area is near the entrance lion. A useful adult fare reference is 150 baht. Published child rules conflict on age, height and free travel; confirm your category before budgeting. Event rules do not automatically apply.

Visitors have been able to get off, linger and continue on another tram. At the counter, settle the next departure, reboarding arrangement, final return and inclusions for the ticket being sold. A wait for the first available departure or the next vehicle can lengthen the outing. Build that into a meal or activity booking rather than treating a quoted circuit duration as the whole visit.

For a group or a fixed appointment, ask whether an advance reservation is needed. Establish the commentary language if an English explanation matters to you. Save the final return time separately from the park’s closing time; do not linger beyond the last connection.

At the animal stop

The Mini Zoo has included giraffes, zebras and smaller animals. Find out which animals may be fed and what the approved feed costs. Use the method staff show you, supervise children and keep hands away from enclosures unless specifically instructed. Permission to feed is not permission to touch an animal or cross a barrier.

You can leave out the captive-animal stop if it is not something you enjoy. An attractive setting or an agricultural-tourism label does not, by itself, establish an animal-welfare or conservation standard.

Bikes, powered rentals and carts

A bicycle gives you control of your pace, with the physical effort that comes with it. Before choosing a route, look at its distance and terrain and consider the least confident rider. An internal leisure circuit is a different undertaking from cycling here from Chiang Rai on public roads and then riding home.

The listed 90-minute rentals are Tokyobike 200 baht, RYDE e-bike 600 baht and electric scooter 300 baht. The RYDE has two seats. Skirts and high heels are prohibited for these three rentals. Confirm driver and passenger eligibility, especially for children.

Choose equipment that fits. Check brakes and tyres, and ask what helmet or other protective gear is included. Confirm a child bike, tandem or correctly sized helmet before depending on one. An estate scooter is a recreational hire, not a road-motorcycle rental. Bring-your-own bicycle access needs confirmation too.

At hire, get the return deadline, deposit, identification requirements, damage responsibility and late charges clear. Ask where you may park the equipment during a café or activity stop. Compare prices and hire periods. Keep the hire deadline and pickup time visible if you linger at a café.

A private golf cart lets a family or group travel together without pedalling. Cart hire has been sold alongside a separate per-person farm-access payment. Ask for a total for your passenger count and hire period, including capacity, who drives, the permitted route and any individual tickets. A cart quote does not automatically include paid activities. Choose it for the group’s needs rather than importing a price from an old review.

Private cars have not been allowed in some parts of the farm circuit, including the zoo. Tell staff where you are going and follow the current signs; a route drawn through the plantations by a navigation app is not permission to drive it.

A ride, a climb or a drive

The zipline takes you through the air from a high launch point in protective equipment. It is a height-and-motion experience. The artificial climbing wall asks you to make the ascent yourself. That is a different kind of effort, even if both activities involve heights. An ATV outing follows a motorised route onto hills with views across the tea-growing estate. Choose the experience you want rather than treating the three as interchangeable rides.

Published sports prices, October 2026:

Zipline: 300 baht per round; published participant weight range 40–90kg.
Climbing wall: 300 baht per hour.
ATV: 800 baht for about 30 minutes, or 1,500 baht for about one hour.
Off-road buggy: 1,250 baht for about 15 minutes, or 3,200 baht for about 45 minutes.
Classic-style electric car: 300 baht for 15 minutes.

These published references do not confirm same-day availability. One adult tram ticket plus a zipline round totals 450 baht before food, purchases and travel. A ropes course is listed; ask about its operation, format and charge.

Ask staff about age, height and equipment fit; weight alone cannot qualify a child. Wear practical clothing and secure, closed footwear, use the required equipment and listen to the briefing. Supervision does not remove every risk.

Before paying, establish what happens if weather interrupts the activity: waiting, rescheduling and a refund depend on the ticket’s actual terms. Obey closures and staff directions on slippery or unsuitable routes. Leave time for the briefing and activity before the last tram.

When the estate becomes an event venue

Balloons on the programme and balloons you can book

The 2026 Singha Park International Balloon Fiesta ran from 11–15 February. Its programme included balloon competition, illuminated night-glow displays and concerts. Those dates are past. Use the park’s event announcements for a newly confirmed programme rather than assuming the same dates in 2027.

A tethered balloon remains attached to the ground by lines, rising within a limited area before coming down. A free-flying balloon travels away from its launch point. Watching a display, making a tethered ascent and booking a flight therefore offer different experiences. A festival ticket should not be taken to include either ride. Balloon Love in 2026 involved 14 selected couples; it was not an entitlement for every ticket holder.

Separate balloon-flight packages have been advertised outside the festival context, including shared flights with a minimum group. Before organising a trip around one, get confirmation of the date, flight type, duration, minimum group, participant restrictions, full price and meeting point. Also settle the weather-cancellation and refund arrangements. A product page without a confirmed available date is not enough to secure a daily walk-up flight.

November gatherings and an overnight stay

Park Utopia x Jiang Hai Fest is announced for 6–7 November 2026. Event admission and camping are sold separately unless the chosen package expressly combines them. Read the programme and inclusions for the actual ticket, including whether any farm transport or activities are covered. The event’s evening finish can require different transport and arrival arrangements from an ordinary daytime visit.

Chiang Rai Road Classic is scheduled for 29 November 2026. It is a noncompetitive scenic cycling gathering, with four announced route options ranging in character from a relaxed outing to a greater challenge. The point is riding through Chiang Rai with other cyclists rather than beating them to a finish. Check the chosen route’s distance, entry conditions and registration availability; those cannot be inferred from the announcement alone. This is a separate event, not the ordinary park-bike rental.

The park lists camping, alongside event-specific offers. Establish whether the offer is a bare pitch, a supplied tent or a package. Count occupants and check bedding, toilets, showers, meals, event admission and cancellation terms. A listing or old photograph cannot confirm tents for your date or year-round walk-in camping.

For ordinary sightseeing, choose a Chiang Rai city base if your evenings will centre on town. Staying near a concert may shorten the late journey; confirm the accommodation and transfer before relying on that advantage. For event access, parking and normal-activity operation, use the organiser’s arrangements for that date.

Reaching Singha Park and fitting the day together

The address is 99 Moo 1, Mae Korn (also written Mae Kon), Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai 57000. The approach is on Route 1211, also called Den Ha–Dong Mada Road. From central Chiang Rai, roughly 12 kilometres and 20–30 minutes by car is a useful starting estimate, with the actual journey depending on your departure point and traffic.

A taxi, private driver, tour or your own vehicle can suit the journey. If hiring a songthaew, establish whether the fare is for a private vehicle or a shared route. A Kad Luang–Nong Kao Hong shared-songthaew route has been described as passing the park, but no current timetable was verified for this guide. Treat it as something to check locally, including departure, fare and last return, rather than a connection on which to base a tight plan.

Arrange the ride back before being dropped off. An app request may work, but it does not guarantee that a car will be waiting when you finish. Agree the pickup time and precise place, keep the driver’s contact details and settle what happens if you are delayed. The entrance statue, sports area and an inner restaurant are different meeting points. For dinner or an event, make the return arrangement for that evening’s finish.

Visitor parking is available at multiple points. Follow the correct entrance and current signs for your venue, especially when an event changes the normal approach. A car parked at the front still leaves the internal transport decision to make.

The White Temple and the journey from Chiang Mai

Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple, is a nearby but separate road journey. A temple visit followed by the farm or lunch can work well. For cycling, I would ride earlier and fit the temple around it. Keep suitable temple clothing with you, and allow each visit its own time rather than plan to walk between them. The Chiang Rai temples guide can help you select the religious stops that interest you.

From Chiang Mai, allow for a substantial intercity journey and a separate onward transfer to the park. A bus ticket to Chiang Rai is not transport to the entrance. I would include Singha Park while spending time in Chiang Rai, or in a selective organised day that leaves enough time here; travelling that distance only for the entrance photograph is a much narrower outing.

General listed visiting hours are 9am–6pm daily. Last tram departures, equipment returns and activity admissions can be earlier. Confirm the last service you need, not merely the closing time of the estate.

For time on site, my planning allowances would be:

About 30–60 minutes for the entrance landmark and front area.
Two to four hours for a farm-tram outing, selected stops and a drink or snack.
A longer half-day or more for cycling, a paid activity and a full meal.

These are planning estimates, not fixed tour lengths. Queues, reboarding waits and the group’s pace change the total. With young children, leave room for drinks, toilets and a stop they want to linger at; a tea-and-tram visit avoids fitting bikes or climbing equipment.

Heat, rain and the open landscape

Northern Thailand’s broad hot season runs from around mid-February to mid-May, and the wetter season from roughly mid-May to mid-October. October is transitional rather than a guaranteed end to rain. For sustained outdoor activity, I would favour a cooler morning around November–January, while treating the actual forecast as more useful than the season label.

Take water, sun protection, comfortable shoes and a light rain layer when appropriate. You cannot rely on shade at every place you want to stop. An early ride followed by a seated meal is easier to manage than starting exercise hungry in the midday heat. In poor conditions, an open café or a shorter entrance visit may suit you better than an exposed circuit.

Check the Chiang Rai weather forecast and local air-quality information close to your visit. Haze can obscure the views and make a long outdoor session less appealing; adjust the day to the conditions, even after buying a ticket.

Arrangements for your own group

For a wheelchair user, someone who finds steps difficult or a family with a stroller, investigate the actual chain of movement from arrival to the chosen stops. A vehicle that reduces walking does not necessarily provide step-free boarding. Ask:

Does the tram have a ramp or steps, and must a wheelchair user transfer to a seat?
Will the specific wheelchair or folded stroller fit, and can it stay with the group?
What surfaces and gradients connect the intended stops, seating and toilets?
Which toilet meets your needs, and can you reach it without an unsuitable slope or step?
Can a vehicle make a closer drop-off at the restaurant or activity?

Give the park the dimensions and assistance needs that will determine the answer. A facilities list mentioning a ramp or toilets is not a complete access assessment. Families should confirm child conditions for transport, equipment and each activity separately.

Pet access needs a specific answer for the entrance, internal transport and restaurant. For a drone or organised commercial shoot, establish the required permissions before using it; open ground does not grant flying or field access. Carry some cash for smaller purchases and check payment methods for larger charges. Those policies have not been verified as universal park rules here.

For current arrangements, call the park and farm-tour desk on 091 576 0374, or sports and recreation on 091 890 7394. Give your travel date and the exact venue, activity or access requirement so the answer applies to the visit you intend to make.