At the Highest Spot in Thailand – Doi Inthanon National Park

28 December 2014

Doi Inthanon has the bragging rights of being the highest spot in Thailand.  Soon after alighting from the car at the end of the road leading to the summit, we could feel the colder air at the high altitude. We were advised to bring jackets for our day trip by Lanna Kingdom Tours and this was the reason. The lowest recorded temperature here was –1 degree C and it happened just a few days ago on 21 December 2014. But that was in the middle of the night. In the middle of the day, the temperature was at a comfortable 12 to 15 degree C.  Yet it was strange to see a few local Thais decked out in thick winter clothes.

Highest spot in Thailand - Doi Inthanon. Many were queuing up to have a photo with this sign. Why not?

Located at the top is a significant landmark. The memorial shrine of King Inthanon, whose ashes were buried here. According to our guide, he was a king of Chiangmai who regained control of the city from the Burmese conquerors and requested that his ashes be placed on this mountain upon his death so that he could protect his people forever. Hence the mountain bear his name.

King Inthanon Memorial Shrine. This was the new shrine built in 1986 over the old shrine which has broken down.

There was another sign marking the actual highest spot in Thailand just after the shrine. This spot is in the midst of jungle and there is no nice vista point to appreciate that we are at the peak. So for those hoping to get a nice view of the mountain range from the peak, this is not it. Go to the King and Queen Pagoda instead (our next stop) for the views.

Signage to mark the actual spot height at 2565.33 m above sea level.

What I found interesting here was the Ang Ka Luang Nature trail. This trail is a 360 metres loop, passing through wet and cold areas in a lush valley.  We could see trees covered with lichens and wild orchids. This place is supposedly a good place to see rare species of birds but they were so rare that we saw none of them!

Boardwalk for the Ang Ka Luang Nature trail.

Trees covered with moss, lichens.

There is also a small visitor centre, toilets, cafes and souvenir shops. The visitor centre shows the history of Doi Inthanon, species of birds and plants found here. We took about 5 minutes to see it all.

A chance to send a postcard home from Doi Inthanon’s peak.

Wild flowers at the peak.

From the peak, we drove a short distance down to the King and Queen Pagodas. They are a must-see for any visitors to Doi Inthanon. More about our visit to the pagodas in the next post.