One of His Majesty the King's initiatives, the Ang khang Royal Agricultural Center was set up initially to promote alternative crop planting in an area that was once dominatedby illegal poppy plantations. The initiative was a result of Their Majesties the King and Queen's visit to Phak Fai in Fang district of Chiang Mai.
At Ang Khang, they saw the people of the Museu Tribe, who at the time still kept a long tuft of hair, were clad in black and commonly sported a pouch. They learnt also that the impoverished people made a living from planting poppy. Such cultivations were fast depleting forest watersheds and other resources, which would have severe detrimental results on the country's ecological system. Hence in 1968, His Majesty purchased the land and the farms in some parts of Doi Ang Khang with his personal fund and set up the Ang Khang Royal Agricultural Station to study into the possibility of alternative crop planting, such as vegetables that thrive well in temperate climate.
Across the 6,400-acre of land, the Ang Khang Royal Agricultural Center boasts more than 12 types of fruit trees, 60 types of vegetables, and 20 varieties of floral species that grow in temperate climate. These include among others, broccoli, iceberg lettuce, phak hwarn (Melientha suavis Pierre), dryas, the remarkable thousand-year roses (rhododendron arboretum Smith), lilies and tulips. Ang Khang enjoys a pleasant climate all year round with temperature averaging 16 Celsius. It is therefore another destination popular with tourists.
How to get there: From Chiang Mai, take Highway #107, Chiang Mai - Fang Route. Turn left at the intersection at Tambon Mueang Ngai into Highway #1178 that takes you through Baan Arunotai and on to Ang Khang Royal Agricultural Center.
