Route 1148 runs about 91km between Chiang Kham in Phayao province and Tha Wang Pha in Nan province, along a ridge with almost nothing on it. No towns, no junctions of any consequence, no traffic lights, no lorries and, on most weekdays, essentially no other vehicles. It is regularly named the best driving road in Thailand and it turns up on international lists of the best motorcycle roads in the world, and for once the hype is close to accurate.
It is also the least convenient good road in the country. It goes from one place nobody visits to another place nobody visits, there is no fuel along its length, and you have to drive several hours from anywhere you are likely to be staying just to reach either end. That is precisely why it is empty.
- LengthAbout 91km
- Driving time2-3 hours at a proper pace
- EndsChiang Kham (Phayao) and Tha Wang Pha (Nan)
- Fuel on routeNone - fill up at either end
- Best seasonNovember to February
What the road is actually like
The surface is the first surprise. Route 1148 is a national highway maintained to a good standard: smooth asphalt, sensible camber on the bends, guardrail where it is needed, and centre markings that are actually visible. This is not a broken back road that happens to be scenic. It is a properly engineered mountain highway that nobody uses.
The second surprise is the rhythm. The road follows a ridge line rather than a valley, so instead of long climbs and long descents you get a continuous sequence of rises, drops and sweeping bends, with the elevation shifting every few minutes. Sight lines are mostly good — you can see the road laid out ahead of you across the next hillside — and the corners are more open than the hairpins on Route 1095 to Pai. It is a road you flow along rather than one you fight.
The third thing is the emptiness. For long stretches there is simply nothing beside the road: no houses, no shops, no side turnings, no field access. That is what makes it exceptional to drive and what makes it a serious place to have a problem.
There is no fuel between Chiang Kham and Tha Wang Pha. Ninety-one kilometres of mountain road uses considerably more fuel than ninety-one kilometres of flat highway, and a small scooter that shows 100km of range on the level may not have it here. Fill the tank in the town you start from, every time, without exception. Phone signal is intermittent, so read what to do when you break down before rather than after.
Which end to start from
It works equally well in both directions, and the sensible choice depends on where you are coming from.
From the west (Chiang Rai, Phayao, Chiang Mai): start at Chiang Kham and finish at Tha Wang Pha, which puts you 20km or so north of Nan town at the end of the day. Nan is by some distance the better place to spend an evening.
From Nan: run it westbound and continue to Chiang Kham, from where you can carry on to Chiang Rai or Phayao. This is the natural direction if you are working your way towards the Golden Triangle.
Either way, allow two to three hours for the road itself and do not plan anything immediately afterwards. There is nowhere to stop for a meal in the middle, so eat before you set off.
Where it fits in a trip
Route 1148 on its own is a half-day. To make a trip of it, most people build it into a Nan loop of three to five days. Nan province is one of the least-visited corners of Thailand and the roads in it are consistently good, so the surrounding driving is nearly as rewarding as the headline road.
| Day | Leg | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiang Rai or Phayao to Chiang Kham, then Route 1148 to Tha Wang Pha and on to Nan | Half a day plus the road |
| 2 | Nan north on Route 1080 to Tha Wang Pha and Pua, then east over the Doi Phu Kha pass to Bo Kluea | Most of a day |
| 3 | Bo Kluea loop back to Nan, or continue south along the ridge roads | Most of a day |
| 4 | Nan south on Route 101 towards Phrae and out | Half a day |
Nan town is the base. It is small, walkable, sits on the Nan river, and has one genuinely famous thing in it: Wat Phumin, whose interior murals include the whispering-lovers panel that appears on half the province's tourist material. There are enough guesthouses and restaurants to be comfortable and not enough visitors to feel like a resort.
Pua, on Route 1080 north of Tha Wang Pha, sits below Doi Phu Kha with rice terraces around it and is the jumping-off point for the mountain road east.
Bo Kluea is a village in a deep valley where salt has been evaporated from mountain brine wells for centuries — you can watch it being done. The roads in and out are steeper and narrower than Route 1148 and include some of the most dramatic ridge driving in the country, with several sections where the tarmac runs along the top of a spine with drops on both sides.
Vehicle and rider
This is a road that rewards a bigger machine more than most. The corners are open and quick, the elevation changes are constant, and a 125cc automatic scooter spends the whole time either flat out or braking. It will get you there — but this is the one route in this section where the difference between a small scooter and something with 300cc or more genuinely changes the experience.
The practical difficulty is supply. Nan and Phayao have small rental markets with limited choice; the sensible plan is to rent a decent bike in Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai and ride it across. See renting a big bike in Thailand and renting a motorbike in Chiang Rai.
In a car the road is superb and much less well known than it should be. There is no gravel section, no ford, nothing that requires ground clearance. An ordinary hire car does it comfortably. Check first whether your agreement restricts which provinces you may enter — taking a hire car between provinces covers the usual terms.
Go on a weekday
Route 1148 is quiet at any time, but at weekends and on Thai public holidays it attracts organised motorcycle groups from Chiang Mai and Bangkok riding it fast in convoy. Midweek you may go twenty minutes without seeing a vehicle in either direction, which is the whole point of coming.
Hazards on an empty road
Emptiness changes the risk profile rather than removing it.
- Speed creep. With no traffic and good sight lines, it is very easy to end up going far faster than you intended, and then to meet the one pickup truck of the afternoon on a blind rise. Thai speed limits apply here exactly as they do everywhere else.
- Livestock and dogs. Where the road passes the occasional hamlet there will be dogs, and buffalo are moved along mountain roads at dawn and dusk. See livestock and wildlife on Thai roads.
- Debris after rain. Cuttings shed gravel and mud onto the carriageway in the wet season, and nobody sweeps it up quickly on a road this quiet.
- Distance from help. A puncture on Route 1148 is a much bigger inconvenience than a puncture near Chiang Mai. Carry water, check your tyres before you start, and know the emergency numbers.
When to go
November to February is the window. The air is clear, the road is dry, and the long views across the ridges — which are the reason this road is special rather than merely enjoyable — are actually there. Mornings are cold at altitude.
March and April are the burning season across the whole north. Nan and Phayao are as badly affected as anywhere, and on a bad day you will drive 91km of famous scenery through grey murk.
May to October is the rainy season. The road stays open but the corners get slippery, debris appears in the cuttings, and low cloud sits on the ridge for hours at a time. It is a fine wet-season road by northern standards because it is well drained and well surfaced, but it is not what you came for.
Nan sits close to the Laos border and the province has several crossings. None of them takes a Thai rental vehicle — see crossing into Laos by road.
Frequently asked questions
Is Route 1148 really the best road in Thailand?
It is the best sustained piece of driving road, on the reasonable definition: excellent surface, constant interest, superb views and almost no traffic for 91km. Whether it beats the Mae Hong Son Loop depends on what you want, because Mae Hong Son is a multi-day trip through places worth stopping in and this is a single magnificent road through nowhere.
How long does it take?
Two to three hours to drive the 91km at a pace that is enjoyable rather than frantic. Add the time to reach either end: Chiang Rai to Chiang Kham is a couple of hours, and Tha Wang Pha to Nan town is about twenty minutes.
Where is the nearest petrol?
Chiang Kham at the western end and Tha Wang Pha or Pua at the eastern end. There is nothing usable in between. Fill up whichever way you are going.
Can I ride it on a rented scooter?
Yes, and plenty do. A 125cc automatic will manage the gradients and the range if you start with a full tank, though you will be working it hard. The road suits a larger machine far better than most Thai routes.
Is it suitable for a car?
Very much so. It is two lanes of good asphalt throughout with no unsealed sections. It is one of the few celebrated motorcycle roads in Thailand that is just as good in a car, mostly because you can look at the view without leaving the road.
What else is worth doing in Nan?
The road east from Pua over the Doi Phu Kha pass to the salt village at Bo Kluea, the ridge roads beyond it, and Wat Phumin in Nan town. Three or four days in the province is easy to fill and you will meet almost no other foreign visitors doing it.
If you are building a longer northern trip, this pairs naturally with the Golden Triangle loop from Chiang Rai at one end and the drive down Highway 118 at the other. The broader picture is in driving in northern Thailand.