Mae Hong Son City, is best visited following the end of the wet season in late October. During this dry, cool season, running from November through to February, the landscapes are lush and the air fairly clear. Temperatures are cool to temperate, with night-times often downright cold, making a sweater or jacket an asset.

Once the weather starts to warm up in March to April the annual burn begins, when farmers burn back the rice stubble to prepare for new crops. Across the entire region the landscape is bathed in heavy smoke, making for crummy photos and general unpleasantness. The smoke stays till the wet season, commencing in late May or early June and running till October, washes it all away. Until then, the trekking drops off a bit