Wednesday 4 February 2026
An excursion to Thailand’s highest mountain

Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand with the peak at 2,565 meters above sea level (8,415 feet). Located southwest of Chiang Mai, the drive to get there is about 2-1/2 hours, so going there, spending time at the mountain, and coming back would take up a whole day. For all of the winters I have been coming to Chiang Mai, people have asked if I had been to Doi Inthanon or strongly recommended that I make the trip. For no real reason, I have never made the trip to Doi Inthanon. My friend Esther is in Chiang Mai this week for her first visit, and on her list of things she wanted to do was to visit Doi Inthanon. As she was booking the tour at The 3-Sis, I thought this is a good opportunity to finally go, and decided to join her. The tour included a drive to the mountain, a hike of 8.5 kilometers up and around the mountain, a visit to the actual peak, lunch at a market, a visit to the temples built to honor the 60th birth anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) in 1987, and the 60th birth anniversary of Queen Sirikit in 1992, and finally a visit to a large picturesque waterfall.

Hike up Doi Inthanon

The van picked us up at The 3-Sis at 7:45 AM and we joined 9 others and our tour guide. It was a nice, diverse group with people from many places, including Uruguay, Korea, China, and the U.S. The drive out to where the hike starts was over 2 hours, as expected. The first part of the hike will be uphill, then a downhill section, and finally a section our tour guide described as “up and down, up and down.”

Doi Inthanon is very popular – the people at The 3-Sis said it was the most popular tour they book for guests. Many sections of the hiking path were covered with wooden steps or wooden planking to prevent erosion and over-wear from many people making the hike. And yes, that first section was very much uphill. In spite of the uphill challenge, being in the forest is beautiful and cool. Here is the start of our uphill climb towards the top.

Then we saw the first of a few waterfalls.

There are many large trees in the forest here. And some will inevitably fall and we have to walk under or around.

For a short stretch, as we were near the top of this hike (but not the top of the mountain) the path takes us out of the woods briefly, climbing up to several panoramic views. It can be seen from the photo that this section is single-file and something of a natural bottleneck with many people on this part of the hike.

As we rounded a large bend, we were treated to stunning views. As is so often said, pictures do not convey how dramatic and beautiful the views were.

I grew up in Washington State in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The Washington State flower is the Pacific Rhododendron. Here I am on a mountain in Thailand, not exactly close to “home,” and I see a rhodedendron! (Remember the lyrics of the refrain of the Washington State song: “Washington my home, wherever I shall roam…” So even though I have lived in the San Diego area of California for 46 years, Washington still claims me.) The rhodendron was notable enough that our tour guide pointed it out. I believe he said that this mountain range is the only place in Thailand where they grown.

Then we entered the forest again in what looked almost like a tunnel. I took a photo, and then Esther took a photo of me going into back the forest. Notice a few rhodendron flowers at the top of the photos.

Back into the forest for the downhill and the “up and down” sections. In places, the forest is quite dense.

At a place where we took a brief break, Esther and I were photograhed in the forest.

Then another section of planked path, one of many small bridges, and more stairs up. By this time I was getting a little tired (I was not the only one) so the uphill sections were not as welcome as the downhill. A part of that might have been the elevation.

We finished the hike and were driven near the actual summit of the mountain, then make a short hike (uphill) to the peak. Here is our tour guide telling us about the peak and its history.

The mountain Doi Inthanon was named for Inthawichayanon. He became the 7th ruler of the Chet Ton Dynasty of Lanna (northern Thailand) with the seat of the kingdom in Chiang Mai. He reigned from 1870 until 1896 when Siam annexed Lanna to become what is now called Thailand. Inthawichayanon was an advocate for the forests in northern Thailand and worked to preserve them. After his death in 1897, his remains were interred here near the peak, and the mountain was renamed in his honor.

Nearby the actual peak is the monument in which the remains of Inthawichayanon are interred. I took a photo of the back and then of the front. In the damp forest the monument gets covered with moss quickly.

Our tour guide took photos of Esther and me at the highest point in Thailand.

Next we took a break for lunch. I should have but did not get a photo. The lunch is a process repeated for the many tour vans that come to Doi Inthanon every day, so they are efficient at the process. And, the food was pretty good.

Temples honoring the former King and Queen

We drove up to the temples that were built to honor the 60th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) in 1987, and the 60th birthday of Queen Sirikit in 1992. The temples are very modern-looking, not my favorite look, so I did not take many photos. That the temples exist are further evidence of how deeply the Thai people loved King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Here is a view from the Queen’s temple looking over to the King’s temple and a closer view of the King’s temple.

Here are two views of the intricate carvings at the base of both temples. I suspect they tell a story that is over my head.

The Waterfall

After a stop at a market to patronize the locals, we went to the last stop, a large and impressive waterfall. I am certain it has a name, but I did not get it. There is a lot of water coming down that mountain! Here is a photo of the main part of the waterfall and a little farther downstream.

And just to close out our visit to Doi Inthanon, a photo of me with the waterfall in the background. I was really there, and after all these years, I made it to Doi Inthanon!

A two-hour drive back into Chiang Mai, and my visit to Doi Inthanon was complete. I thank Esther heartily. I may not have taken the time to make that trip had she not been here, and I am very glad I did. It was a very good day in Chiang Mai.

Next: I have only a few days left in Chiang Mai for this 13th winter here, I am not sure what awaits me in these last days.