Golden hour in Chiang Mai in January

Chiang Mai lies at 18.79° N, in the tropics, where the sun climbs steeply and sets fast. Its longest measured day falls on Thu 18 June 2026 with 13h 16m of daylight, and its shortest on Fri 18 December 2026 with 11h 00m — a difference of 2h 16m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Chiang Mai runs for roughly 32 minutes at the height of summer, 29 minutes around the March equinox and 32 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is at its most generous in summer, so summer shoots allow more time to work a location.

The sun sets toward 295° WNW in late June and toward 245° WSW in late December, a shift of about 50° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Chiang Mai, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.