Destination guide
Doi Inthanon National Park Guide
Thailand's highest mountain, two hours from Chiang Mai, with waterfalls on the way up and frost at the top
Doi Inthanon is Thailand's highest mountain, 2,565 m, and the national park around it is the best day trip from Chiang Mai. It's about 100 km southwest of the city, roughly two hours each way, and a single road, Route 1009, climbs the last 48 km from the town of Chom Thong to the top. Everything worth seeing sits on or just off that road. Big waterfalls on the lower slopes, a Hmong market and Karen coffee villages in the middle, and near the top the twin royal pagodas, the Kew Mae Pan ridge trail and a cloud-forest boardwalk at the summit.
Foreign adults pay ฿300, and there's no transport inside the park, so you need a tour, a driver or your own wheels. Go between November and February, on a clear day, and bring a jacket, because the top averages about 6°C in January.
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Key Facts
Foreign adults pay ฿300, cars ฿30
Children aged 3 to 14 pay ฿150 and motorbikes ฿20, in cash at the checkpoint at km 8. The twin royal pagodas aren't run by the park and charge ฿100 of their own.
The gates open 05:00 to 18:00
Most waterfalls and trails close earlier, around 16:00 to 17:00, and the visitor center is staffed 08:00 to 16:00.
Kew Mae Pan opens 1 November to 31 May
The ridge trail is the walk to plan around. A local Hmong guide is compulsory, about ฿200 per group, hired at the trailhead.
The summit is cold
It averages about 6°C in January and has dropped below freezing. Even on a hot day in Chiang Mai, take a warm layer.
You need wheels on the mountain
Songthaews run from Chiang Mai to Chom Thong at the foot of the road, but nothing runs between the stops inside the park.
Bring cash and fill the tank
There are no ATMs in the park and the fees, guides and food stalls take cash. Buy fuel before you start the climb.
Is Doi Inthanon Worth Visiting?
Yes, on a clear day. It's the one trip from Chiang Mai that feels like a different country, pine and cloud forest instead of rice fields, cold air, and views across ridge after ridge toward Myanmar. Three big waterfalls sit beside the road up, and the Kew Mae Pan trail gives more view per hour of walking than any short hike near Chiang Mai.
Two things decide whether you'll love it. The weather, because cloud often sits on the top and turns the pagodas and the summit into a walk through fog, so check the forecast and go on a clear morning. And the season, because Kew Mae Pan is shut from June to October and the views from March to April are lost in burning-season smoke. Climbing the mountain itself takes no effort at all. You drive to the top, and the summit marker is a few minutes' walk from the parking lot.
How to Get to Doi Inthanon From Chiang Mai
| Option | Cost | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Group day tour | ฿1,200–1,800 a person | One or two people who don't drive. Usually 9 to 10 hours with hotel pickup |
| Private driver for the day | About ฿2,700–3,200 a car, plus fees | Three or four people, or anyone who wants Kew Mae Pan and their own order |
| Rented scooter | ฿150–250 a day, plus fuel | Confident riders with a motorcycle license. Take 150cc or bigger for the climb |
| Rented car | Rental and fuel | Families and anyone staying the night. Use low gears on the way down |
| Songthaew to Chom Thong, then a charter | About ฿800 for a chartered truck up the mountain | Patient travelers only. Expect 2.5 to 3 hours with changes |
Tour prices from our day-trips guide and the tour operators' own listings; private-taxi fares from Thai National Parks (from ฿3,200) and The Stupid Bear (from ฿2,700 round trip); the mountain charter from The Blond Travels. Check whether a tour includes the ฿300 park fee and ฿100 pagoda ticket before you book.
Tour, Driver or Scooter?
The drive is about 100 km and two hours. Take Highway 108 south for 58 km to the Chom Thong junction, then turn onto Route 1009, which climbs 48 km to the summit. The park checkpoint is at km 8.
For one or two people, I'd take a tour. It's the cheapest way up per person, the guide handles tickets, and you don't have to drive 48 km of mountain road twice. The catch is the order. Tours tend to start at Wachirathan Waterfall and reach the top in the middle of the day with everyone else, and most don't include Kew Mae Pan.
For three or four, a driver for the day costs less than four tour seats and lets you go straight to the top first. A scooter is the cheapest and the most fun if you ride well, but the climb is long and steep, police run license checkpoints around Chiang Mai, and most travel insurance excludes motorbikes, so this is not the road to learn on. Without a car or a tour, yellow songthaews run from Chiang Mai Gate and Chang Phueak to Chom Thong, and from there you charter a truck for the mountain.
Doi Inthanon Entrance Fees and Prices
| What | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign adult | ฿300 | Paid at the km 8 checkpoint, or at Mae Ya's own checkpoint. Keep the ticket |
| Foreign child (3–14) | ฿150 | Same checkpoints |
| Thai adult / child | ฿60 / ฿30 | Thai ID holders |
| Car / motorbike | ฿30 / ฿20 | Paid with the people's tickets |
| Twin royal pagodas | ฿100 | Run separately from the park |
| Royal Agricultural Station | ฿20 | Run separately from the park |
| Kew Mae Pan guide | About ฿200 per group | Compulsory, 1 November to 31 May |
| Pha Dok Siew guide | ฿220 per group of up to 10 | Compulsory. ฿150 for a car back from the village |
| Camping | ฿30 a person a night | Tent for up to three ฿225, bedding set ฿60 |
| Park bungalows | ฿1,000–6,500 a night | 30% off Monday to Thursday |
Park fees as listed by Thai National Parks (in force since June 2022) and on our park and waterfall records; camping and bungalow prices from Thai National Parks (May 2026); trail guide fees from our trail records. Older blogs quote ฿40 for the pagodas and ฿50 for a car, and Thai National Parks gives the Kew Mae Pan guide as ฿220, so carry a little extra.
Things to Do on Doi Inthanon, From Chom Thong to the Summit
In the order you meet them on the road. If you're driving yourself, I'd go straight to the top first, while it's quiet and before the cloud builds, then work back down. With one day, the five I wouldn't miss are the pagodas, Kew Mae Pan, the Ang Ka boardwalk, Wachirathan and one coffee stop.
1. Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong, Chom Thong, at the foot of the road
A stop on the way homeThe royal temple in Chom Thong town, about 58 km south of Chiang Mai and a couple of kilometers past the turn onto Route 1009. It's a twenty-minute look at gilded shrines on the way back, and it also runs long meditation retreats if you want something slower.
- Getting there
- On the Chiang Mai to Hot road in Chom Thong.
- When to go
- 08:00 to 17:00.
2. Mae Klang Waterfall, Just below the km 8 checkpoint
The first falls, with food stallsA wide, tiered fall 600 m from the checkpoint, the easiest of the big ones to reach and quieter than Wachirathan. Food stalls by the water make it a good place for a late lunch on the way down.
- Getting there
- Signed off Route 1009 just before the checkpoint.
- When to go
- Fullest from May to October.
3. Mae Ya Waterfall (detour), About 14 km from Chom Thong, off the main road
The biggest fall in the parkA curtain of water 40 to 50 m high and about 100 m wide, with pools at the base. It's off the summit road, so it's easy to miss, and it's the one I'd add if you have the time. It has its own checkpoint, where you buy or show the same ฿300 park ticket. Give it an hour, including the short walk in from the parking lot.
- Getting there
- Signed off Route 1009 low on the mountain, about 1 km off the main road.
- When to go
- 08:00 to 18:00. Best in the rains and just after.
4. Wachirathan Waterfall, Km 21
The famous oneThe fall everyone remembers, a long white drop that throws spray across the whole clearing, with rainbows in the morning sun. Paths with steps lead down to two viewpoints, so you choose how wet you get. Swimming isn't allowed. There are restaurants and coffee stalls at the parking lot.
This is where most tours stop first, so it's busiest from late morning.
- Getting there
- A 500 m side road off Route 1009, 13 km past the checkpoint.
- When to go
- 06:00 to 17:00. Loudest from July to October.
5. Sirithan Waterfall, Km 22
A two-minute stopA narrower fall a kilometer past Wachirathan, seen from a viewing platform at the end of a short paved path. You can't get to the base. Worth a stop because it's right there, not worth a special trip.
- Getting there
- Roadside parking on Route 1009.
- When to go
- Best from June to October.
6. Pha Dok Siew trail to Mae Klang Luang, Near the park headquarters, around km 30
A forest walk to a coffee villageA 2.6 km trail past a string of waterfalls to Ban Mae Klang Luang, a Karen village where coffee is grown and roasted and rice terraces climb the valley. A local guide is compulsory, ฿220 per group of up to ten, and a car will take you back to the start for ฿150. Allow an hour and a half to two hours.
It's the trail to ask about from June to October, when Kew Mae Pan is shut, though it's muddy in the rains, so check it's open. The terraces are at their greenest late in the rainy season.
- Getting there
- Trailhead about 1 km east of the headquarters, with overflow parking 500 m away.
- When to go
- 08:00 to 16:00. Start in the morning.
7. The Hmong market, Km 31, by the headquarters
Fruit, snacks and souvenirsA roadside row of Hmong stalls selling fruit, fried bananas, cocktail tomatoes and fruit liqueurs, and one of the few places to eat near the campsite. The first stalls you reach are the most touristy, so walk on to the second cluster.
- Getting there
- On Route 1009 at the headquarters turn.
- When to go
- Daytime.
8. Royal Agricultural Station Inthanon, Ban Khun Klang, 1.5 km north of the headquarters
Flower gardens, on the way to SiriphumA royal project set up in 1979 to replace opium with crops, now a spread of flower gardens and greenhouses of rhododendrons, ferns and hydroponic vegetables. It's ฿20, run separately from the park, and pairs with Siriphum Waterfall, a short way beyond, where Siamese sakura flowers for a few weeks in late January and early February.
- Getting there
- Turn north at the headquarters for Ban Khun Klang.
- When to go
- Late January and February for the blossom.
9. Siriphum Waterfall, Off Road 1284, north of the headquarters
Sakura seasonA waterfall beyond Ban Khun Klang and the royal project gardens, quieter than the falls on the main road. Combine it with the gardens.
- Getting there
- Past Ban Khun Klang, 1.5 km off Road 1284.
- When to go
- May to October for the water, late January for the blossom.
10. The twin royal pagodas, Km 41.5
The viewTwo chedis on a ridge below the summit, built for King Bhumibol's 60th birthday in 1987 and Queen Sirikit's in 1992, in landscaped flower gardens. The buildings are pretty, but the reason to come is the view over the highlands from the gardens, so this is the stop that needs a clear sky. The west-facing terraces are the park's sunset spot.
They charge ฿100, separate from the park ticket. An escalator takes you to the base, then stairs to the chedis.
- Getting there
- Parking on Route 1009, a few kilometers below the summit.
- When to go
- 07:00 to 17:00. Early morning or late afternoon for the light.
11. Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail, Km 42
The best walk on the mountainA loop of about 2.5 to 3 km that starts in mossy cloud forest, comes out onto an open grassy ridge with views across the mountains and down to the pagodas, and ducks back into forest. Allow two to three hours. There are steps and some steep stretches but nothing technical, and rhododendrons grow along the ridge.
It opens only from 1 November to 31 May, and closes in heavy rain even then. A local Hmong guide is compulsory, about ฿200 per group, hired at the booth by the parking lot. Most group tours skip it, so if it matters to you, pick a tour that names it or go with a driver.
- Getting there
- Roadside parking on Route 1009, a few hundred meters above the pagodas.
- When to go
- From 06:00, last start around 15:00. Early for the clouds below you.
12. The summit and the Ang Ka boardwalk, Km 48, the end of the road
The highest point in ThailandThe summit has no view. It's a marker, a shrine holding the ashes of King Inthawichayanon, the last king of Chiang Mai the mountain is named for, and a café, all a few minutes from the parking lot. Across the road, the Ang Ka boardwalk loops about 360 m through dripping, moss-covered cloud forest that grows almost nowhere else in Thailand, and the birds around the summit café are a draw of their own. Take your time on it, 30 minutes at least.
Doi Inthanon has about 500 recorded bird species, more than any other park in Thailand, which is why you'll meet bird watchers with long lenses up here.
- Getting there
- Drive to the end of Route 1009.
- When to go
- Any time it's open. Colder than you think.
Doi Inthanon in One Day
Leave Chiang Mai by 07:00 and drive straight up to the summit and the Ang Ka boardwalk. Walk Kew Mae Pan next while the ridge is clear (November to May), then the pagodas. Have lunch and a coffee at the Hmong market or the Wachirathan stalls on the way down, see Wachirathan and Sirithan, and finish at Mae Ya or Mae Klang if there's light left. Stop at Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong on the way home. That's about two hours of driving each way and five or six hours on the mountain.
On a tour you'll get roughly the same stops in reverse, starting with the waterfalls.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
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Weather on Doi Inthanon and What to Wear
The top of the mountain is far colder than Chiang Mai. In January the summit averages about 6°C while the city's nights average 16°C, mornings in December and January hover near freezing, and the record is −5°C, measured at km 44.4 on 21 December 2017. Even in the hot months it's cool and often misty up there.
November to February is the best time, cool and dry, with the clearest views and Kew Mae Pan open. March and April are hot below and hazy everywhere, because the burning season's smoke hides the views you came for. From May to October the rains fill the waterfalls and turn everything green, July to September is the wettest stretch, and Kew Mae Pan is closed from June.
Dress in layers. A fleece or a light down jacket for the top, long pants, and shoes with grip for wet steps and trails. Cover your shoulders and knees for the pagodas. In the rainy months add a rain jacket and a cover for your camera at Wachirathan.
Sunrise on Doi Inthanon
The summit is the obvious place, but it's often wrapped in cloud. The better sunrise is the viewpoint on the main road beside the Kew Mae Pan parking lot, which faces east and on a good morning looks over a sea of cloud. The pagodas face west, so keep them for sunset.
The gates open at 05:00, and from Chiang Mai the top is about two hours away, so a sunrise means leaving in the middle of the night or sleeping on the mountain. December and January give the best chance of cloud below you, and the coldest wait.
Camping and Staying Overnight
A night on the mountain is the way to get the sunrise and Kew Mae Pan before the tours arrive. The park campsite sits less than a kilometer north of the headquarters, around km 31, and opens only in the cool season, 1 October to 15 February by the park's usual dates. Camping costs ฿30 a person a night, a tent for up to three ฿225 and a sleeping bag, mat and pillow ฿60. There's no restaurant at the campsite, so eat at the headquarters or the Hmong market, and bring the warmest clothes you have.
The park also rents bungalows from ฿1,000 to ฿6,500 a night, with 30% off Monday to Thursday. The national parks' online booking system was down through the 2026 season, so book by phone on 053 286 729, ideally through a Thai speaker. On weekends, at New Year and at Songkran the mountain is packed and the road jams deep into the park, and around 12,000 people go up on New Year's Day alone, so avoid those dates if you can. Karen village homestays and guesthouses near the park entrance are the other options.
Doi Inthanon Tours
The standard group tour is a nine-to-ten-hour day from Chiang Mai with hotel pickup, lunch and a guide, for about ฿1,200 to ฿1,800. It covers Wachirathan, the summit and Ang Ka, the pagodas and a Karen or Hmong village coffee stop. Check two things before booking. Whether the ฿300 park fee and ฿100 pagoda ticket are included, and whether the day includes a real hike, Kew Mae Pan from November to May or Pha Dok Siew the rest of the year, because the cheapest tours just drive between viewpoints.
Private tours with a car and guide run from about ฿1,950 a person upward, and suit families or anyone who wants to start at the top.
What I'd Skip
Going in cloud or smoke, because the pagodas and the summit are all about the view. A tour that doesn't walk anywhere, if you're fit enough for Kew Mae Pan. Weekends, New Year and Songkran, when the road backs up. And the summit for sunrise, unless you're camping and it's on your way.
Plan the rest of your time around Chiang Mai.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Doi Inthanon National Park Guide.
Yes, on a clear day. It's Thailand's highest mountain, two hours from Chiang Mai, with big waterfalls, the twin royal pagodas, cloud forest at the summit and, from November to May, the Kew Mae Pan ridge trail. In cloud or burning-season smoke the views disappear, so pick your day.
Yes. Drive or ride the 100 km yourself, or hire a driver for the day for about ฿2,700–3,200. Yellow songthaews run from Chiang Mai to Chom Thong at the foot of the mountain, but nothing runs inside the park, so you'd have to charter a truck from there.
฿300 for foreign adults and ฿150 for children aged 3 to 14, plus ฿30 for a car or ฿20 for a motorbike, in cash. The twin royal pagodas charge ฿100 of their own, and the Kew Mae Pan trail needs a guide for about ฿200 per group.
No. A road goes all the way to the summit, and the marker is a few minutes' walk from the parking lot. The real walking is on the trails. Kew Mae Pan is a 2.5 to 3 km loop that takes two to three hours with some steep steps, and the Ang Ka boardwalk is a 30-minute loop.
Take Highway 108 south for 58 km to Chom Thong, then Route 1009 for 48 km to the summit, about two hours in total. Or join a group tour (฿1,200–1,800), hire a driver, or take a songthaew to Chom Thong and charter a truck up.
It opens from 1 November to 31 May each year and closes from June to October for the rains. It also closes on days of heavy rain. A Hmong guide is compulsory, hired at the trailhead.
The summit averages about 6°C in January, December and January mornings are near freezing, and the record is −5°C in December 2017. Bring a fleece or jacket whatever the month.
Layers, with a warm jacket for the summit, long pants, and shoes with grip for wet steps and trails. Cover your shoulders and knees for the pagodas, and pack a rain jacket from May to October.
November to February, when it's cool and dry, the views are clearest and Kew Mae Pan is open. March and April are smoky. From May to October the waterfalls are at their biggest but the ridge trail is closed.
Yes, at the campsite near the headquarters, which opens in the cool season, usually 1 October to 15 February. It's ฿30 a person a night, and you can rent a tent for ฿225 and bedding for ฿60. Park bungalows cost ฿1,000–6,500 a night and are booked by phone.
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Written by
Mac Kiley
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled the country from there. The guides are my own opinions, written the way I'd explain them to a friend planning a trip.
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