The highest mountain in Thailand, two royal pagodas, a hike through the forest to a Karen village, and the biggest waterfall in the park.
Doi Inthanon is the day trip I do most often, and the one I would choose myself. In one day you go from the city to the top of the highest mountain in Thailand, walk through a wet mossy forest, visit a Hmong market and a Karen village, and see the biggest waterfall in the park.
Some groups want the full hike. Some prefer to skip it and spend longer at the pagodas and the market. Both work. I know the park well enough to plan the stops so that we arrive at the busy places before the tour buses do.
A typical day. We can move, skip or add stops.
8:30
I collect you at your hotel and we drive south. The park entrance is about 1.5 hours away.
A short stop at the highest point in Thailand, 2,565 metres. It is often 10 to 15 degrees colder than the city, so bring a jacket.
A 20-minute loop on a wooden boardwalk through a forest covered in moss and ferns. It is the wettest place in the park and it looks it.
Two pagodas built for the late King and Queen, with flower gardens around them. On a clear morning you can see the valleys below. Often the clouds come and go while you are there.
A market run by Hmong families from the village next to the park headquarters. In the cool season there are strawberries and avocados. There are always dried fruits, coffee and warm handwoven clothes.
About 1.5 hours of downhill walking with a Karen guide from the village, which the park requires, past two waterfalls and through the forest to the rice terraces at Ban Mae Klang Luang. We have lunch in the village, usually at a family restaurant with a view over the terraces.
The biggest waterfall in the park, a short walk from the car park. In the rainy season the spray reaches the viewing platform.
18:00
I drop you back at your hotel in Chiang Mai.
The Pha Dok Siew trail is mostly downhill with uneven steps and one or two stream crossings. If you prefer an easier day, tell me and we skip it and spend more time at the waterfalls and the market.
November to February has the clearest skies and the coldest mornings. From June to October the forest is at its greenest and the waterfalls are at their strongest, and it rains most afternoons.
The White Temple, the Blue Temple, the Black House and the Guan Yin statue at Wat Huay Pla Kang, with a stop at the hot springs on the way. A long day, about twelve hours.
A morning with elephants at a sanctuary that does not offer riding, a bamboo raft down the Mae Wang river, and a limestone waterfall you can walk up barefoot.
A mountain village of wooden houses east of Chiang Mai, a soak at San Kamphaeng hot springs, and a limestone cave with a reclining Buddha.