| Official Name: | Pai |
| Native Name: | ปาย |
| Native Name Lang: | th |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Thailand |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Mae Hong Son |
| Subdivision Type2: | Seat |
| Subdivision Type3: | Subdistrict |
| Subdivision Type4: | Muban |
| Established Title: | District established |
| Population Total: | 29526 |
| Population As Of: | 2005 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Postal code |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 58130 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Geocode |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 5803 |
| Timezone: | ICT |
| Utc Offset: | +7 |
| Coordinates: | 19.3586°N 98.44°W |
Pai (Thai: ปาย, in Thai pronounced as /pāːj/) is the northeasternmost district (amphoe) of Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand. The central town is Pai.
The Daen Lao Range dominates the landscape of this district. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise): Mueang Mae Hong Son, Pang Mapha of Mae Hong Son Province; Shan State of Myanmar; Wiang Haeng, Chiang Dao, Mae Taeng, Samoeng, and Galyani Vadhana of Chiang Mai province.
The main rivers in the district are the Pai and Khong Rivers.
The district slogan is, "Pai River, worship Luang Pho Un Mueang, spread good kind of garlic, surrounded by lush forests, way of life evenly between hot and cold".
In the year 1477 during the King Tilokaraj's reign of Lanna Kingdom. He ordered Prince Si Chai to attack Burmese army at Ban Don. During the battle, two of his white elephants fled. He asked the soldiers to find before found that they were swimming in an unnamed river. Therefore, he named this river "Pai", which comes from the name of the elephant "Chang Pai".
After winning the war. The King established him as Lord Chai Songkhram and has been in charge of Pai since then.[1]
The district is divided into seven sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 66 villages (mubans). Pai itself has township (thesaban tambon) status and covers parts of tambon Wiang Tai. There are a further seven tambon administrative organizations (TAO).
| No. | Name | Thai name | Villages | Pop. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Wiang Tai | เวียงใต้ | 8 | 6,493 | ||
| 2. | Wiang Nuea | เวียงเหนือ | 10 | 3,727 | ||
| 3. | Mae Na Toeng | แม่นาเติง | 14 | 6,417 | ||
| 4. | Mae Hi | แม่ฮี้ | 6 | 2,835 | ||
| 5. | Thung Yao | ทุ่งยาว | 12 | 3,990 | ||
| 6. | Mueang Paeng | เมืองแปง | 9 | 3,198 | ||
| 7. | Pong Sa | โป่งสา | 7 | 2,866 |
Pai, at present it is well known as an important tourist destination of Mae Hong Son. It is therefore very popular with both Thai and foreign tourists especially young people and also being used as a location for filming movies such as Ruk Jung in 2006, Pai in Love and Kat Rattakarn's Ya Kuet Nak-MV in 2009, Timeline in 2014 etc.[1]