The Royal Pavilion
I first visited The Royal Park Rajapruek (also transliterated as Ratchaphruek) in December of 2006. It was then popularly known an The Royal Flora Expo and officially known as The International Horticultural Exposition at the Royal Agricultural Research Centre, Chiang Mai.
60th anniversary emblem
It was created by the Department of Agriculture to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the throne and also his 80th birthday (on December 5, 2007). I was one of 3,781,000 visitors that first year.
Later it was retained as a learning centre for botanical agriculture and site for agro-tourism and culture. In 2010 H.M. The King gave it the name “The Royal Park Rajapruek.” Rajapruek is the Thai name of Cassia fistula, commonly known as the Golden Rain Tree. It is the Thai national flower. Its yellow blossoms correspond to Monday, the day H.M. King Rama was born.
Kasma and I revisited the Royal Park this year in its current incarnation.
One of the tourist sites recommends giving “2 to 3 hours.” We spent 6 and didn’t see everything.
Note: The photo above left shows the emblem created for the 60th Anniversary of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s reign. The centerpiece is an abbreviation of the king’s name in golden yellow, the color of Monday, his day of birth. The abbreviation is set on a blue background, which is the color of the monarchy. He was born in the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese Zodiac. Above the centerpiece is the number 9 in Thai script – he was King Rama IX.
(Click images to see larger version.)
There’s a slideshow of images at the bottom of the page.
The Ho Kham Luang Royal Pavilion
The Ho Kham Luang Royal Pavilion was and is the architectural highlight of the park, a beautiful pavilion built in the traditional Lanna style. You see it first in the distance as you enter the park located at the end of a wide boulevard-like path lined with statues. The Lanna kingdom was founded 700+ years ago in Northern Thailand and developed its own characteristic style, which is used here.
Elegant walkway to the Royal Pavilion
Royal Pavilion details
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves about the grace and beauty of this magnificent structure. (There are more photos in the slide show.)
Inside the Royal Pavilion
Detail of the inside of the Royal Pavilion
The Progress by Sompetch Manorin (ceramic)
Goddess of the Earth by Sagon Suthiman
In 2006 the bottom floor of this beautiful structure housed a number of stunning artworks. It now contains exhibitions honoring His Majesty the King under the theme, “The Development King through Six Decades” with information about his life and works and including videos about the beloved monarch. I highly recommend watching the video presentation if you get a chance: I found it inspiring and uplifting.
Park Layout
Walking towards the Royal Pavilion
The park is divided into 9 zones scattered across 200 acres (80 hectares). It consists of numerous outdoor gardens and buildings containing exhibits and indoor gardens. The indoor buildings include The Kingdom of Tropical Dome, Shaded Paradise, Orchid Pavilion, Desert Plants Greenhouse and Bug World. Outdoors you can see the Palm Garden, Sawadee Garden, Flower Garden, Royal Garden, Garden New Theory and Lotus Garden. There are some example hilltribe houses and international gardens as well. The park map (offsite, opens in new window) will give you an idea of the scope of the park.
On this recent visit, we took a leisurely stroll through the entrance area and the lovely initial gardens and then up the broad walkway to the Royal Pavilion. We spent quite a bit of time in and around the upper floor of the Pavilion and then more time with the exhibits and videos about the king on the bottom floor. From there we focused on the Shade Garden, Orchid Pavilion and Bug World. After that, 6 hours later, we were ready for a rest with the remainder, sadly, left unexplored.
Shade Garden
This is a thoroughly enjoyable wander through the pathways of temperate climate plants with many beautiful bromeliads.There are more photos in the slideshow below.
Meandering path at the Shade Garden
A row of bromeliads
Orchid Pavilion
This is a fabulous collection of orchids. On the occasion of our visit one the highlights was the many drifts of phalaenopsis orchids – just a stunning display. The exhibit consists of an extensive outdoor area as well as indoor rooms.
Lovely orange orchid
The author amongst the orchids
There are many more orchids (and shade plants and butterflies) in the slideshow below.
Bug World
I’ve been to many “Butterfly Farms” in the past; Bug World has them all beat. I’ve never seen so many butterflies and so many different kinds of butterflies in one place. We spent over an hour here, either tracking butterflies to photograph or lurking at plants that they seemed to prefer, waiting for a chance to get a photo.
Butterfly feeding
Giant moth
Recommendation
Photo of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulydej
If you are a plant lover visiting Chiang Mai, this is a must-see. It is also an excellent stop for lovers of Thai Culture and an opportunity to learn about the life and works of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
My recommendation would be to go in the winter; if possible in December around the time of the King’s Birthday (which is December 5): it’s the season where the gardens appear to be at their most lush, with the most flowers in bloom. We were there on December 18 of last year (2017).
It opens at 8:00 a.m.: get there as soon thereafter as you can; it can get pretty hot there and there’s not always shade along the walkways, though a shuttle service is available. That’s another good reason to visit in December – it’s in the “cool” season. (Though I’ve also heard it said that there are two seasons in Thailand: hot & hotter.)
Royal Project Rajapruek Slideshow
Click on “Play” below to begin a slideshow.
Clicking on a slide will take you to the next image.
Websites for Further Information and Visit Planning
- Royal Park Rajapruek – อุทยานหลวงราชพฤกษ์ (offsite, opens in new window)
- History of The Royal Park Rajapruek (offsite, opens in new window)
- Royal Park Rajapruek – Asian Itinerary (offsite, opens in new window)
Written by Michael Babcock, January 2018