Doi Inthanon
Thailand'S Highest Peak (2,565 M); Doi Inthanon National Park · Chom Thong, Chiang Mai
Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand, rising to 2,565 metres about 100 km south-west of Chiang Mai, and the heart of a national park of cloud forest, waterfalls and hill villages. A paved road climbs almost to the top, so the summit is reached by car rather than on foot; there a small shrine holds the ashes of King Inthawichayanon, a nineteenth-century ruler of Chiang Mai, after whom the mountain is named, and a boardwalk called the Ang Ka nature trail loops through dripping moss forest and bog. On a ridge below stand the twin royal pagodas, built for the late King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, amid flower gardens with views over the ranges. Waterfalls such as Mae Klang, Wachirathan and Sirithan pour down the slopes, and the Kew Mae Pan trail, walked with a local guide, follows a grassy ridge above the clouds. Karen and Hmong villages grow coffee, strawberries and rice on terraces, and the park is one of the best birdwatching places in Asia. The summit is cold, often foggy, and in December and January can see frost at dawn.
Doi Inthanon National Park, Ban Luang, Chom Thong, Chom Thong, Chiang Mai, 50160, Thailand
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the park is open every day, with the checkpoint on the lower road open from early morning, about 5 or 6 am, to about 6 pm; the summit road is open during the same hours. The twin royal pagodas open from about 6 am to 6 pm. The Kew Mae Pan trail opens from early morning to mid-afternoon, with the last start around 3 pm, and has been closed during the rainy season, roughly June to October. The headquarters and market run through daylight. The traps that ruin a day are leaving Chiang Mai late and reaching the summit in fog, arriving without warm clothes, planning around the Kew Mae Pan trail in its closed season, and driving up for the frost on a holiday weekend in a queue of cars. Confirm current times before relying on them.