Dear Steemit Community!
Today I am going to tell you about my amazing trip to the highest mountain in Thailand which is called Doi Inthanon National Park. If you love nature then you should not miss out my story. I hope you guys like it.
When I was living in Chiang Mai I saw that so many tourist offices offer trips to a mountain called Doi Inthanon. I began to do some research on my own and I found out that Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand.
I told my friends and we all decided that our next weekend trip will be a trip to Doi Inthanon. As we wanted to spend two days there, we booked a hostel online. I really recommend two days, as one day might be too stressful and you can´t really enjoy the time.
Doi Inthanon is around 2500 meters high and the whole area is a National Park.
People most of the time rent a car to drive there as the roads are winding and super steep in some sections. Also, a lot of people go there with an agency. I would not recommend that as those trips are very expensive and you can not do what you want to do.
We decided to take our scooters as we are girls who love action and we drove all the way by ourselves. But don´t go there by scooter or motorcycle unless you are a skilled scooter or motorcycle driver. Otherwise, I would advise against it. If you are a good driver then please make sure that your scooter or motorbike is heavy enough and in a good condition otherwise, you won´t be able to drive up the mountain.
Anyways, on an early Saturday morning, we took our scooters and rode all the way up to Doi Inthanon National Park.
The ride took us around one and a half hours until we passed the entrance to the National Park.
You need to pay 300 Baht (8-10 $) per person to enter the Park. And after you passed the entrance you will have a very beautiful ride. The landscape is just amazing. But be aware. The higher you drive up the colder it get´s and at the very top it only has a few degrees so don´t forget to bring a jacket with you.
After we paid, we drove for another half an hour until I suddenly realized that my scooter had a flat tire which meant that I could not drive any further. My friends and I tried to stop a car but the problem was that there was nobody who could help us. Finally, after an hour, a car came and we directly stoped it. I was so happy that this car was a pick-up car. Six Thai men came out of the car and they couldn´t speak any English. I just showed them my scooter and they knew what´s going on. As Thai people are very helpful they put the scooter on top of the car and they drove us to the next service center where they could change the tire.
I think those Thai men had a lot of fun with us western girls and I think they made jokes about us all the time. But it was nice because we were sitting in the back of the car as well and we could enjoy the ride to the service center.
Even though it was a fucked up situation I could not stop laughing because the whole situation was just funny and I knew that I would never ever experience something like that anywhere else. That´s Thai style :-)
After 10 minutes we arrived at the service center. I was super thankful for the help of the Thai men. Without them, I think I would still be there. I gave them around 100 Baht (4$) and they were so happy because for them it´s a lot of money.
We said thank you and goodbye and then they left.
The service center looked really funny as it was actually just an old garage. A guy and his little son changed the tire in about 10 minutes and we all were very happy that we could finally continue our adventure trip. I gave them as well 100 Baht and everybody was happy.
Now you guys know why I said at the beginning that you HAVE to make sure that your scooter or motorbike is in a good condition :-).
Once we could continue our trip we drove another half an hour to the top of the mountain and all I can say is that this route was one of the most beautiful routes I´ve ever seen. Just incredible. The first thing we did once we arrived was enjoying the fresh air which was super nice.
We first visited the Royal Pagodas (the two temples). These temples are one of the main attractions which you should definitely visit. Phra Mahathat Napha Methanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphon Bhumisiri were built to commemorate the birthdays of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his Queen. The pagodas are surrounded by a beautiful garden with stunning foxgloves and plenty of butterflies (and bees).
We walked around and checked out the huge area. There is so much to explore.
We were lucky because when we arrived the weather was still good but soon it began to rain.
If you want to visit the temples then please keep in your mind that you have to put off your shoes and be quiet. Also dress accordingly (don´t show your shoulders and knees).
The temples are a real highlight as they are very beautiful and spectacular.
On our way to the hostel, we really enjoyed the landscape. It is such a peaceful place. Our hostel was located up the mountain so also from there we had an awesome view.
The accommodation we booked was super cheap so we didn´t really care that it was not so good looking as it was only for one night. But for that price, it was not that bad. I already had worse hostels for even more money.
Our adventurous day ended with a delicious dinner at a nice little street kitchen and we enjoyed the sunset.
The next morning started early. We all had a relaxing night. After we had breakfast, we directly drove to a waterfall which was around one hour away from our hostel.
Actually, we planned to go hiking as the National Park offers a lot of hiking trails. But then we decided to visit the Watchiran Waterfall. There are a few other waterfalls you can visit. For example the Mae Ya and the Sirithan Waterfall.
Unfortunately, swimming there was not allowed but that didn´t really matter as the view and the atmosphere were already stunning enough.
We spent around two hours at the waterfall and we all loved it. We didn´t want to leave anymore but unfortunately, we had a long way back to Chiang Mai city.
For the ride back we decided to take a different route. We passed rice and flower fields. It was sad that the weather was cloudy on that day so the view was not so breathtaking this time. But what I really liked about this route was that we saw so many monks.
Before we drove back to Chiang Mai, we stopped at a platform and from there we enjoyed the view for one last time.
Here I have some tips for you before visiting Doi Inthanon National Park:
1.)Start early – the park is large so you’re not going to have to fight your way through any crowds, but you’ll want to make the most of the day. You should aim to leave Chiang Mai by 9 am in the morning. The park opens at 6 am if you are extra ambitious, and closes relatively early at 4:30 pm.
2.)The entrance fee for the park is 300 Baht for foreigners and 50 Baht for Thai nationals (prices current as of March 2017).
3.)Because of the high altitude, the climate is significantly cooler in the park. Bring a light jacket if you are visiting early in the morning, and wear comfortable walking shoes for the nature trails.
4.)There are plenty of bathrooms in the park – so don´t worry about that!
5.)There aren’t a ton of places to eat in the park, so I would recommend that you have a solid breakfast and bring a snack and water for the day.
6.)You cannot swim in almost all of the waterfalls, but bring your swimsuit along just in case.
7.)Most of the trails are well shaded, so you probably won’t get sunburned.
We really enjoyed the two days even though we didn´t go hiking which was a pity if I look back. We wanted to have a more relaxing weekend which was the reason why we did not visit so many places there.
Many people go there for a day trip. But in fact, I would really suggest going on a two-day trip instead of trying to fit everything into one day. There’s just too much to see such as more waterfalls, nature trails and an interesting cave. It´a very beautiful place and once you are in Chiang Mai you should really not forget to visit the highest mountain in Thailand. The landscape is just amazing. You won´t have such a special experience anywhere else in North Thailand. From all the trips you can do in and around Chiang Mai I highly recommend going to Doi Inthanon. It´s definitely an experience which you will never forget.
I hope you guys liked my story and I would be very happy about comments or any feedback.
Thank you so much for reading :-)
Have a lovely day!