This is one of the most beautiful cafes in Chiang Mai!
Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai is the third cafe operating under the same successful brand. All are spectacular and all are located a ways from downtown. This particular one is located near the handicraft shopping district of Baan Tawai, famous for its wooden furnishings. It sadly experienced a fire in June 2020 and the main building burnt down along with much of the rope bridge structures. The cafe part has moved closer to the waterfall and everything remains open as normal! They will rebuild even better.
Completely surrounded by nothing but gorgeous rice fields, Jungle De Cafe is sure to impress. Its design is intriguing and requires an adventurous mind and one that is not afraid of heights! The man-made waterfall adds an essence of serenity to the place.
This is a cafe for everyone – kids too! Just make sure you’ve got a close eye on them. Read on to find out what else there is to see and do at Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai!
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A fantastic place to visit with or without kids in Chiang Mai
A great aspect about Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai is that it opens pretty early and stays open late. With it being so popular, this is a good thing! It will allow you to get here before all the crowds or arrive long after they’ve left.
This Jungle De Cafe is situated in the middle of green rice paddies. To get here and leave from here, you will literally find yourselves driving through the rice fields passing grazing cattle along the way.
In the cool season this means that you may experience the early morning mists over the rice fields, and during the evenings, be witness to a stunning sunset. It truly is a wonderful place that you will want to return to and at may different times of the day.
Be sure to check out all the other amazing nature cafes
in Chiang Mai.
Reasons why Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai is a great place to visit in Chiang Mai
Beautiful surroundings*
Just getting here is an adventure through the small villages and countryside of Chiang Mai. At least the way here is very well marked! Once at Jungle De Cafe, assuming the rice fields are lush and haven’t just been harvested, you’ll enjoy incredible views of the Chiang Mai valley with mountains in the distance.
*Be aware that it is common practice to burn rice husks one they’ve been harvested. This causes a tremendous amount of pollution and is hazardous to health of all ages. Please message Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai or check the AQI levels nearby before you go, especially if visiting with children or elderly family or friends.
The architecture and organization
The design and architecture of this cafe are impressive right from the get go. The entrance is welcoming and leads you straight towards the cafe.
The seating – so much variety!
Again, the design of Jungle De Cafe stands out as you almost don’t want to sit down because you can feel that sitting somewhere else might be just that much better. And it is! If you can get that spot you are after!
From relaxing on pillows in hanging hammocks, to sitting on bar stools over looking rice fields, to sitting in antique looking car seat sofas, to picnic style tables, there’s so much choice!
The waterfall
Not only is the waterfall a beautiful feature, but you have the choice of sitting beside it (whilst getting cooled off by the mist – winning!), sitting on top of it, or sitting behind it! How cool is that? You can actually sit and dine behind the falls and enjoy your meal or cold drink.
Get around by crossing rope bridges!
This feature was definitely a highlight, especially with the kids! Once past the cafe, you have the option of walking upstairs, which leads to the rope bridges, or taking the flatter ground level route.
For those who are not afraid of heights, take the stairs! Once a top, you’ll find the only indoors seating area with air conditioning. It’s a really cool space with bean bag chairs and Thai pillows to sit on.
Then, take a traipse across one of many bridges to reach the waterfall. Climb a bit further up, and you’ll be perched on top of the falls overlooking the cafe and the rice fields.
Hang out with and ride the water buffalo
Well, they aren’t real buffalo unfortunately, but the next best thing! There are about 8 buffalo that you and the kids can pretend to ride. Just watch out because they get really hot in the sun. It’s just another photo op feature that’s a nice touch.
What kind of food do they have at Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai?
Food
The food available is mostly fried rice and some Thai curries. Prices start at around 95 baht and go up from there. As for western food, they offered French fries and fried chicken wings. There are also desserts available and they look quite delicious too! Food orders arrive quite quickly. Our food ticket was called out within 10 minutes which was impressive considering how busy it looked!
Drink
Drinks were the usual fair – coffees, teas, Italian sodas, smoothies and juices. Prices were at the higher end, likely because most people only order a drink and then enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, they only served drinks in plastic cups.
How to place orders here
To relieve pressure on customers and staff, all orders must be placed by you, the customer, in person and paid for up front at the cafe. You are then given a receipt with your order number on it.
Over a loud speaker, your number will be called when your order is ready. The time between your order and when it’s up, will give you enough time to find a place to sit. Keeping in mind, that you likely won’t be in it for very long, there’s quite a bit to explore!
Once your order number is called, you will need to visit two places to pick up food and drink. Food is picked up just outside the cafe to the left, and drinks are picked up at the cafe counter. Maybe this will change, but it worked well seeing as there isn’t much counter space for food and drink to wait to be picked up, and one person might have to make two trips anyways.
Stay overnight at their resort
Half of the land is designated to the Tongna Cottage Natural Resort owned by the same people as the cafe. It is private access only. Most, if not all (from what we could see) bungalows come with their own private pool overlooking the rice paddy. Unfortunately, many rooms and pools are in full view of the cafe guests as well, taking away from any privacy of the resort guests.
There’s also a main swimming pool and other private facilities. It might make for a nice escape, as long as you can get a room that is not near the cafe itself!
How to get to Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai Chiang Mai?
Well, you’re definitely going to need some GPS to help you out! Or your driver is at least. This cafe is located quite literally in the middle of ‘no where.’ Grab is the easiest solution to get here and get back home again if you have no personal means of transport. You you could also contact Jungle De Cafe and request for transport. Their cafes are technically attractions and they have private mini-vans to get customers to their other two locations, so why not this one?! It doesn’t hurt to ask.
In order to drive here on your own, head south either down Hang Dong Road (the 108) and follow the signs for Baan Tawai handicraft village. Then follow the clearly marked signs! Keep an eye out for the adorable grey buffalo on their signage.
Parking is free and is available in 3 places. There should be parking attendants to help you get a spot.
Hours: Open daily from 8 am – 11 pm
Good for ages: all ages
Kids Menu: No
High chairs: No
Playground: No
Wheelchair or stroller accessible: No
Pet friendly: No
Child friendly staff: No
Birthday parties: No
Prices: $$
Facebook: Jungle De Cafe Baan Tawai
Location: Google Maps
