Are you thinking about visiting the Chiang Mai Gate Market?

This lively market is a true feast for the senses in all the ways – tastes, smells and sights. Chiang Mai Gate Market is known for its delicious street food stalls and very affordable prices which has made this market a favorite for tourists and locals alike.

The Chiang Mai Gate Market is located on Bumrung Buri Road which is the South Gate of the old city. It’s open daily from early from morning till the afternoon (4:00am to 12:00pm) and re-opens in the late afternoon until late at night (5:00pm to 12:00am).

As you wander through the market, you will be greeted by rows of food stalls selling everything from freshly cooked pad thai to spicy pad kra pao. At this South Gate Market, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

Matthew and I regularly visit this bustling market. We used to live super close to it and it became our dinner spot almost every night for weeks. We’ve learnt the ins and out of this market and found the best stalls throughout the years.

And now we are sharing it with you! Here’s a complete guide on what it’s like, the opening hours, location, what kind of foods to try and we are also sharing our best tips specifically for this market.

What Is The Gate Market In Chiang Mai?

The Chiang Mai Gate Market (aka Bumrung Buri Market or South Gate Market) is a small, traditional marketplace located along the south of the old city, along Bumrun Buri Road.

This gate market is a street food lovers dream! You can find delicious Northern Thai delicacies and your favorite classic Thai dishes like Pad Thai. There’s a good variety of food for everyone to enjoy.

The best part about the South Gate Market in Chiang Mai? It’s on every single night and it’s very affordable. If you ever find yourself unsure of where to go for dinner – the Chiang Mai Gate Market is always a good option!

Here’s essential information you need to know about the Gate Market in Chiang Mai:

Opening hours

The South Gate Market is open very early in the morning, closed for the day and re-opened in the late afternoon.

The market is usually closed from 12:00pm to 5:00pm as the street food vendors close shop to rest for the day before beginning their night shift.

There are 2 parts to this market:

1.  You have your traditional wet market where locals will buy meat, fruit and vegetables.
2. You have your food stalls serving meals or street food with an open area for people to sit and eat their food.

The first part of the market is what is open from very early in the morning. This is usually where street vendors or locals buy their ingredients to make their dishes for the day. 

The second part of the market is where you can order from food carts and find a table to eat. This is your typical Thai market where you can choose from street food (eg. dumplings or roti) to full-on meals (e.g pad thai or fried rice). There are some interesting local delicacies from Northern Thailand as well.

Location

Where is the Gate Market in Chiang Mai located in the city?

You can find it on the south end of the old city walls, along Bumrung Buri Road. The market is split by a road in between (which you need to cross carefully). 

Now, Chiang Mai’s Gate Market is a little different to the usual weekend markets.

For example, the Saturday night market will have stalls for food, shopping and handicrafts all across Wua Lai Road which is completely closed off. The Gate Market is a daily market that’s much smaller and they have a permanent place to set up every day.

If you visit the Chiang mai Gate Market to shop, you might be slightly disappointed. There’s not many shopping stalls for clothing, accessories or souvenirs here. The South Gate Market is all about the food!

However, on Saturdays, you will find a ton of shopping stalls at the Gate Market. Since it’s located close to the start of Wua Lai Road where the Saturday Night Market is held, they have more shopping vendors set up in the area. 

Our Experience Visiting The Chiang Mai Gate Market

Matthew and I used to live only 3 minutes walking distance from the Chiang Mai Gate Market. When we tell you we visited this market nearly every day for weeks, we mean it!

It was close, cheap and the food tastes amazing! How could we resist?!

The coolest part about living close to the market was that we got to see both sides of the market – the early morning shift and the late night shift!

Around 7:00am in the morning, we would start walking to the coworking space. At first we didn’t understand what was happening as we saw monks walking around with baskets in their hands. They were collecting food from street vendors and devotees who wanted to show their respect and generosity.

At this time, we had a very tight budget. So, living near the Chiang Mai Gate Market made our lives much simpler and easier. Most nights of the week, we would eat here.

The meals cost less than $1 USD, perfect for our budget backpackers. But just because it’s cheap – doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing food! Our favorite street pad thai can be found here at the yellow stall called, Pad Thai Made To Order (ผัดไท อาหารตามสั่ง พี่เอ).

You must try it – we rave about it to all our friends visiting Chiang Mai.

The South Gate Market is much smaller than any of the other markets like the Saturday night market. As we visited it so often, we loved this about it. It wasn’t too chaotic or filled with a large crowd of tourists. You will find a nice mix of foreigners and locals eating at the Chiang Mai Gate Market!

We have many fond memories at the Chiang Mai Gate Market and it will continue to have a special place in our hearts!

Enjoy The Bustling Gate Market In Chiang Mai

If you are looking for a more local market experience…

…look no further than the Chiang Mai Gate Market. The lively atmosphere of the vendors chatting, the exciting smell of delicious food and the local culture make it a whole experience.

Here are some of the things to eat, buy and try at the Chiang Mai Gate Market:

What To Eat At The Chiang Mai Gate Market?

You’ve got a lot of food choices from local northern thai food to your favorite thai classics.

If you’ve got dietary restrictions or your a vegetarian or vegan, there’s still something for everyone to eat (and enjoy) at this market.

We’ve divided this sections into 3 parts: snacks, meals and dessert so you can see what kinds of food are available depending on how much you want to eat.

Our favorite snacks to eat are:

• Gyoza: Fried dumplings filled with meat or vegetables topped with green onion. The perfect starter to this market adventure!
• Sausage (Thai-style): Usually pork mixed with lots of herbs and spices for flavor.
• Spring Rolls: Meat or vegetables wrapped in a rice paper then deep-fried. Delicious!
• BBQ Chicken Sticks: Grilled chicken on a skewer with a BBQ glaze.

Our recommended meals to eat are:

• Pad Thai (obviously): A classic Thai noodle dish.
• Fried Rice with Crispy Pork Belly: Fried rice with mixed vegetables topped by crispy pork.
• Khao Soi: Northern Thai curry noodle soup – one of my favorite Thai dishes ever!
• Curry (Red, Green, Panang): Curry soup with different flavors served with rice, green is usually the spiciest (FYI).
• Pad Kra Pao: Minced meat mixed with Thai basil served with rice. (⭐️ Local favorite!)
• Suki: Vermicelli noodles mixed with vegetables and meat in a tasty sauce.
• Tom Yum: Hot sour soup usually with shrimp and vegetables.

Our top desserts to eat are:

• Mango sticky rice: Mango on top of sticky rice mixed in coconut milk and sugar.
• Roti (pancakes): Pan-fried flatbread with sliced bananas that’s folded into a square. Add Nutella (not chocolate syrup), trust us – it’s way better!
• Kluay Kuek: Thai banana fritters usually with sesame seeds and shredded coconut. Add ice cream with it if you’re feeling indulgent.
• Khanom Chai: Steamed pudding made with tapioca flour, coconut milk and sugar. Flavors include pandan, butterfly pea or jasmine flowers.
• Khanom Bhueng: Thai crepes filled with meringue and shredded coconut.
• Fresh Fruits: Mango, pineapple, grapefruit, mangosteen, longan – you name it, they’ve got heaps of fruit to try!

Best Food Stalls To Try

Which stalls should you order your food from at the Chiang Mai Night Gate Market?

It can be a little hard to give you an exact stall sometimes because we can’t read Thai and the stalls have faded signs but we have found some of our favorite stalls on Google Maps. 

Pad Thai Made To Order (ผัดไท อาหารตามสั่ง พี่เอ)

This is our go-to stall, we love getting our main meals from here.

The best street pad thai you will eat, seriously! Matthew and I ate this exact pad thai from this stall way too many times to count. It’s our favorite!

They make it fresh and it’s just got this delicious flavor. For only 35 baht ($1 USD), this is an unbeatable deal at the Gate Market! This food stall also has great fried rice dishes. We recommend getting the crispy pork fried rice!

Best Khao Soi Chiang Mai

If you want any curry or soups, this is one of the best stalls for that kind of food.

I mean it’s all in the name of the food stall right – best khao soi. She also has rice noodle dishes served in a creamy sauce to try.

ISA ROTI

There’s another roti stall closer to the market but we prefer this exact stall which is around the corner.

Matthew has indulged in a few too many of these roti pancakes! He absolutely loves it but it’s very sweet and heavy for dessert. It’s best shared, in my opinion!

Ruay Lump Sum Mango​ Sticky​ Rice​

Want mango sticky rice? This is a great stall that only sells mango stick rice located on the other side of the street. 

A lot of people get it for takeaway. The portions here are generous and the mango always looks so perfectly ripe, it’s insane!

Su Fruit Shake

Along with every meal, it’s only right to get a fresh fruit shake.

They make them to order and it only costs 20 baht ($0.55 USD) for a drink. Matthew usually orders a watermelon shake while I like to get a mix of passionfruit and mango. So refreshing every time!

Top Things To Buy At The Gate Market

 Want to buy souvenirs, handicraft or clothes?

Chiang Mai Gate Market doesn’t usually have a lot of shopping stalls. The best markets for shopping are the Saturday Night Market, Sunday Night Market and the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

However, there’s an exception. On Saturdays, there are more shopping stalls open at the South Gate Market. This is because the Wua Lai Walking Street Market starts around this area so it kind of spills onto the Gate Market too.

Here are some of the cool things to buy at the South Gate Market (on Saturday afternoon):

• Clothing: Elephant pants, dresses, northern thai shirts and more.
• Accessories: Handbags, tote bags, jewelry, baskets, wallets and more.
• Souvenirs: Keychains, magnets, stickers, postcards, trinkets and more.
• Home decor: Paintings, ornaments, statues and more.

They’ve only got a few stalls so if you want to do some serious shopping, we suggest visiting the Saturday Night Market or the Sunday Night Market instead.

Essential Tips For A Great Market Visit 

Visiting a market in Thailand can sometimes feel overwhelming. You’ve got so much you want to see, eat and do which makes it difficult to figure out where to start.

We love going to the markets, especially in Chiang Mai. After visiting markets in Vietnam, Bali, Malaysia and the Philippines – Chiang Mai continues to be our favorite place to visit markets on a regular basis.

Even though we were living in Chiang Mai for months, going to the market was a weekly affair for us. We’ve acquired some tips and we’re ready to share our best advice with you!

Here’s the best tips for a great visit to the Chiang Mai Gate Market:

💵 Bring Cash

Cash is king for markets in Chiang Mai. If you want to buy food from the street vendors, there usually only accept cash. 

More established stores will accept card payments like 7-11 or some restaurants near the market. A lot of the street food stalls will actually accept QR code payment. However, we have not been able to use that system. It seems like this is only possible for local bank cards – our Revolut or Wise cards don’t allow this QR code payment.

Within the market itself, our experience has only ever been able to pay with cash! If you have a local Thai bank card, you can also pay with QR code.

👀 Take A Look First

Before committing to a food stall or sitting down, walk around the entire square and market. Have a look at the different kinds of food that’s available and see what you’re interested in eating.

If you are on the traditional market side, there’s not a big seating area. We suggest only getting appetizers, fruits or dessert here because you will have to get it for takeaway.

Once you cross the street, the Gate Market is surrounded by food stalls and there’s seating in the middle of it all. That’s why it’s important to take a look first before settling on where to eat!

🪑Food Stalls Have Their Respective Seats

Wherever you choose to eat, they will (or won’t) have a dedicated seating area. The seating area is usually right behind the food stall. Simply ask the staff where you can sit and they will show you.

Some stalls will have their menus laying on the table and that’s how they know you’re eating with them. You can either go up and order but sometimes we have had them take our orders from the table, as well. Just depends on the day, I guess!

🍜 Come Hungry

There’s a lot of great food to try at the Chiang Mai Gate Market. Make sure to come hungry so you can get a taste for it all. 

This market is mainly food so all there is to do is eat! Don’t eat too much beforehand and save your appetite for the best pad thai market you will have!

⛑️ Get Travel Medical Insurance

While we have never personally gotten sick from the street food in Thailand, we can’t say the same for our friends. A trip to the hospital is never fun and it’s important to get protected with travel insurance if you’re going to be trying street food in Thailand.

We suggest taking a look at SafetyWing and specifically their Nomad Insurance for travels to Thailand. We’ve used them for years now because it’s affordable, easy to sign up and cancel anytime.

⏳ Arrive After 6:00pm

The market officially opens around 5:00pm but some of the street vendors are still setting up their stalls at that time. It might be a little too early if you want to check out all the stalls around the market.

We recommend arriving around 6:45pm. The busiest time is usually from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. We like getting there just before the rush so that we can easily grab a table. However, we do like it later at night too because there’s this buzzing atmosphere once it gets dark.

🗣️ No Bargaining

We found that for food, there’s really no bargaining that occurs. The street food stalls will usually have a sign with the price or a menu with the price.

In recent years, we have found the vendors in Chiang Mai to be more firm with their price. They are less likely to negotiate with you now, especially for food. You can try bargaining for clothes or souvenirs at the other markets in Chiang Mai.

🚦 Watch Out For Incoming Traffic

The market is split apart by Bumrung Buri Road. One part of the market is on one side of the street, while the other part is on the other side of the street.

What does that mean? You’ll have to cross the street. While there is a pedestrian crossing sign, it’s not always followed as motorcycles, cars or songthaews might not slow down.

Just be patient and simply walk slowly and safely across the busy road.

More Amazing Markets In Chiang Mai To Visit

Enjoyed your first market in Chiang Mai and now you want to visit them all?!

We totally understand!

After our first market visit, we were obsessed with going every week. It’s a great free activity to walk around, see all the interesting things and eat delicious food!

Thankfully, Chiang Mai has plenty of markets throughout the week to check out. Here are some of the best markets to visit:

• Saturday Night Market on Wua Lai Walking Street from 4:00pm to 12:00am
• Sunday Night Market on Tha Phae Walking Street, from 4:00pm to 12:00am
• Friday Night Bazaar Market on Changklan Road, from 5:00pm to 12:00am
• Chiang Mai University Night Market on Tambon Chang Phuek, from 5:00pm to 11:00pm

Want a morning market recommendation?

There’s a cute flea market on the weekend called the Coconut Market. It’s a little further from the old city but it’s got this beautiful grounds filled with unique handicrafts made by local artists. 

Verdict: Is The Chiang Mai Gate Market Worth Visiting?

Is it worth visiting the Chiang Mai Gate Market?

Yes, it’s worth visiting if you love Thai food and exploring all the markets Chiang Mai has to offer.

However, if you are after the bigger markets with all the shopping, handicrafts and local artists…this might not be the best market for you as there aren’t many stalls to buy clothes or souvenirs. It’s mostly street food stalls (but delicious food stalls, I might add).

Here’s the thing: this South Gate market is known for its food. In the morning it’s open from 4:00am to 12:00pm, it’s a marketplace for vendors to source their meat, vegetables and fruits.

In the late afternoon to night from 5:00pm to 12:00am, it turns into this street food marketplace where you can sit and eat delicious food. 

Matthew and I used to live close to the South Gate Market. When we were on a tight budget, this market came in clutch for the best, most delicious meals at low prices.

If you visit, make sure to try our favorite pad thai at the Pad Thai Made To Order Stall – it’s the best!

Other than that, we hope you enjoy your time in Chiang Mai and keep exploring the awesome markets throughout the week. They are truly great!

Frequently Asked Questions