Saturday, January 5, 2019
Hiking Through the Jungle Up Doi Suthep

Tom and Julie, my Australian yoga friends, wanted to hike up Doi Suthep. And today seemed as good a day as any…no afternoon appointments, and no rain expected. It was a bit hot, and very humid, so I took along a few bottles of water and electrolyte replacement drink. Along the way we shall pass Wat Phalad, a little less than half way, and stop there before continuing. The second half of the hike from Wat Phalad to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is more challenging than the first, and it will be good to be rested.

The name of the mountain is Doi Suthep, with “Doi” meaning “Mount” in Thai. “Suthep” is the name of the mountain. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is the name of the temple on Doi Suthep. However, the temple is most often referred to as simply “Doi Suthep.” The name of the Temple (Wat Phra That Doi Suthep) actually explains what the temple has. Phra entails of an honorific Buddha image, and That means a relic. Combining the two tells that there is a relic of Buddha’s in the sanctity of the Wat, and in this case it’s half of Buddha’s shoulder bone. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a Thai Royal Temple of the Second Class.

Doi Suthep Legend

There is a legendary story to the temple at the top of the mountain. In the mid-1300s, a monk in the Sukhothai kingdom named Sumanathera had a dream in which he was to go to Pang Cha and look for a relic.  He went there and found a bone, which it has been said that many claimed to be Gautama Buddha’s shoulder bone. And the legend says that the relic displayed magical powers: it glowed, it was able to vanish, it could move, and it could replicate itself. Sumanathera took the relic to King Dhammaraja, the ruler of Sukhothai. However, when presented to King Dhammaraja, the relic displayed no abnormal characteristics, and the king, doubtful of its authenticity, told Sumanathera to keep the replic.

In 1368, King Nu Naone of Lanna heard of the relic and sent word to Sumanathera to bring him the relic. When presented, the relic showed some of the magical powers, and the king ordered a chedi built at Wat Suan Dok, about 1 kilometer west of the Chiang Mai city wall to house the relic. Suan Dok translates to “flower garden” and at the time, this area to the west of the Chiang Mai city wall was the king’s flower gardens. When the chedi was completed and the relic was to be placed inside, it broke into two pieces. The smaller piece was placed into the chedi at Wat Suan Dok. The larger piece was placed on the back of a royal elephant which was released into the jungle. The elephant (followed by the king and his army on horseback) climbed up the mountain, at that time called Doi Aoy Chang (Sugar Elephant Mountain), now known as Doi Suthep, paused at what is now Wat Phalad, then continued on up the mountain. Near the top, the elephant stopped, trumpeted three times, and died. King Nu Naone ordered the construction of a temple and a chedi into which to inter the relic.

Thousands of tourists foreign and Thai visit this temple now known as Wat Phra That Doi Suthep every day. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a sacred temple to the Thai people and is a Royal Temple of the Second Class. Of the thousands of tourists that travel up the mountain to see Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, only a very few visit Wat Suan Dok, even though it is part of the story. And even fewer visit Wat Phalad, even though they pass by.

Hiking up the mountain

I got transportation to Wat Fai Hin, a little past Chiang Mai University, an easy landmark, and only about 1 kilometer from the trail head. Most of the taxi, tuk-tuk, or red truck drivers do not know the location of the trail head, but everyone knows where Chiang Mai University is, and most know Wat Fai Hin as well. After walking uphill for a little while, I was at the trail head where I met Tom and Julie who had come by motorbike. We were soon on the familiar path to Wat Phalad and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

 

It is difficult to show from a picture the steepness of the trail, and while not terribly steep, at times it was much like climbing stairs.

And at times, the trail was quite rocky. The going over these parts is slow as one must be careful not to trip.

Soon we were at Wat Phalad. There are a few structures at Wat Phalad, here is one of my favorites with the colorful front. The doors have always been closed, so I have never seen inside. Maybe someday.

I did not wander around and take pictures, opting for a rest instead. It is hot, humid, and I am sweating heavily. The rest was welcome. I have photographed Wat Phalad many times, and will return again on this trip – it is a favorite place for a quiet meditation. After a rest, we continued on up the trail. The first part of the trail, about 300-350 meters, from Wat Phalad to the road is very steep. Once we got to the road and crossed, we went again into the jungle and started the climb.

There are four sections to the trail from the road to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The first section is steep, and unrelentingly so. This is probably about 800 meters. The second section is less steep, but in dense jungle and tall grasses, still uphill, but allowing one to catch their breath a little. This section is about 400 meters. The third section is also steep, but undulates in places, and there are a few fallen trees over the trail to negotiate. This section is difficult, and about another 800 meters. Finally, the fourth section, short at less than 200 meters, but the steepest. When we emerged to the road, we were all tired, hot, and sweating.

Finally, we walked along the road about 300 meters to the steps leading up to the temple.

There are 307 steps from the road to the temple. The majority of the steps are up the Naga (dragon) lined staircase, the longest Naga balustrade in Thailand. Here are a couple of pictures, notice the large number of people – thousands of people visit this temple every day.

And here I am at the head of the Naga:

I may look cool and rested in this picture, but that is not quite accurate – I am hot, tired, and damp with sweat. We made our way up the stairs paid the 40 THB entrance fee for foreigners (about $1.30), and into the temple. We walked around a little, had some freshly-squeezed orange juice, some water, and walked around some more. There is a view point where one can see all of Chiang Mai below the mountain. It was a bit hazy today, so I did not get that picture. There is a fairly new wooden standing Buddha in front of which I had Julie take a picture:

I think my fatigue is starting to show a little…the smile is not so bright after climbing those stairs.

We made our way into the inner temple with the large golden chedi housing the relic. There are many pictures of this chedi – it is a famous landmark of Chiang Mai.

Around the chedi are many small viharns (worship halls). They are all very different, and monks are in all, happily talking to people.

No monks here (in the picture), but I love the large elephant tusks.

This Buddha statue is now in a line of many Buddha statues. The last two years it was on a pallet off to the side, perhaps waiting for a permanent place. Now is has a place. It looks like marble, an unusual Buddha statue.

After walking around the gold chedi with many, many other tourists, we started making our way out of the temple, down the Naga lined staircase, down all the steps, back out onto the road, and then back into the jungle ad the trail down to Wat Phalad.

The jungle and grasses are fairly dense. Going down is easier than climbing up, but there are places where it is slippery with leaves and loose footing, so it is still methodical.

Just before getting to Wat Phalad, we saw this very large spider in a web in the trees just off the trail. I had seen such a spider at about this place last year, and it (or a relative) is still here. The spread of the legs is about 10 inches (really!). I would not want to encounter this in my home.

I could not get a front view – tried, but cannot find the spider in the picture. Leaving the spider, we had another rest at Wat Phalad. Here is a view of Chiang Mai looking over what is a waterfall after rains – not much water today, just a trickle. I’m standing on a bamboo bridge over the creek to take this photo, and you can see a hazy view of Chiang Mai in the distance:

We continued on down the trail to the trailhead. While we were hot and tired, the jungle trail is beautiful, at times almost a tunnel-effect in the jungle.

I love that hike. Hopefully when we do the hike again, it will not be quite as hot, or humid. It was another good day in Chiang Mai!

Next: Walking around the city and favorite temples