Doi Inthanon, standing at 2565 meters, is highest mountain in Thailand. After doing a bit of research, it seemed that the only ways to get up there are either with a tour or by motorbike. We paid
1200 baht each for a day tour and got picked up by a van carrying 15 passengers at 9 in the morning. After a bit over an hour and half of driving from Chiang Mai
Old City, we reached
Doi Inthanon National Park. We drove up the windy gentle incline and arrived at
Wachirathan Waterfall, a pretty magnificent waterfall with permanent rainbows at its foot. I think this waterfall was the best part of the whole tour actually and wish we could've spent more than just 30 minutes here.
You can follow a rocky path up for 5 to 10 minutes to reach a viewpoint. The path goes on, but we were told there's nothing much beyond the 2nd viewpoint.
There's also a muddy path down where you get to see nice natural pools while enjoying the cool spray of the waterfall. Some shops selling popsicles and drinks are available by the parking lot.
Next on the agenda is a 5-minute drive to the
White Karen Village, which is nothing more than a couple of houses on stilts and a few locals in colorful clothing weaving things to sell to tourists. Make sure you have enough money if you're interested because the items are quite expensive — 2000+ baht for a big woven bed sheet, for example. I found it a bit weird for tourists to just show up where people were going about their business. Not very exciting.
There are also some tiered rice fields but these were all dried up in late January.
On the drive up to lunch, we drove past just a few
cherry blossom trees that already had leaves growing. I think the best time to see cherry blossom would've been 2 weeks ago, in mid-January. Mind you there are just a few trees on the side of the road, so if you're on a tour, they probably won't stop. There are also some places to pick strawberries on the side of the road. Lunch consisted of fish, coconut chicken soup, and a couple of chicken and vegetable dishes shared over rice.
After lunch, it took 20 minutes to drive to the
peak. It was not as warm here, but nowhere as cold as I thought it would be. It was 3 degrees Celsius at 6 in the morning but just a cool comfortable temperature in the early afternoon—could've gotten away with wearing a t-shirt. Being the highest point of Thailand, it really didn't seem that impressive. Other than the sign and some shrines, there wasn't much to do up there. It was underwhelming to say the least. I think people might just come up here to take photos with the sign, which we didn't bother doing.
Near the peak, there's a circular trail called
Ang Ka nature trail. The sign says it would take 30 minutes, but really it was a only a very easy 10-minute walk on boardwalks through the forest. The air was fresh and it was beautiful. There are lots of signs with information in English.
Another 5 minutes of driving took us to the
King and Queen Pagodas, more photogenic than impressive. There are some nice gardens here and you can get an unremarkable view of the mountains. The Queen Pagoda was under restoration. Again there are some shops here to get drinks and snacks.
Yet another 5-minute drive took us to he last stop, a
market selling fruits and dried fruits.
I hate to be negative but I was really disappointed in this tour. It was one of the most boring tours I've been on. Other than
Wachirathan Waterfall and the nice natural trail,
Doi Inthanon didn't seem very interesting. I think if you
arrange your own transportation here, you will definitely have a better experience! Spend more time at the different waterfalls here and do some hiking. Tours to
Doi Inthanon that include trekking were over
2500 baht but maybe you'll get to see a more interesting side of this mountain.
