Doi Inthanon: Mighty Waterfalls, Rural Life and Royal Chedis

Doi Inthanon, the “Roof of Thailand”

The Angka Nature Trail near the summit of Doi Inthanon

This is a private tour. No one else will join you. For the best time to go trekking in Chiang Mai, check out this page.

Your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel at 0800. This trip is about Rural life, Royal Chedis, and Doi Inthanon waterfalls in Doi Inthanon National Park. Doi Inthanon aka the “Roof of Thailand” is the highest mountain in Thailand (2,565 m) and became a national park in 1972. The park boasts the highest diversity of forest types and bird species found in any single park in the country, and has many beautiful waterfalls. We will drive up to the summit of Doi Inthanon, where we will visit the shrine of “Grand Prince” Inthawichayanon, after whom they named the mountain. After this, we will hike the short Angka Nature Trail and admire the prevalent mossy cloud forest below the summit.

The Twin Royal Pagodas

We start our descent and visit the Twin Royal Chedis or Pagodas, one called Naphamethinidon, meaning “by the strength of the land and air.” They called the other, Naphaphonphumisiri, meaning “being the strength of the air and the grace of the land.” The Royal Thai Air force built these chedis (temple towers) to honor the 60th birthday anniversary of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1987 and the 60th birthday anniversary of his wife Queen Sirikit in 1992, respectively.

The Pha Dok Siew Nature Trail and Doi Inthanon Waterfalls

After this, it is time for lunch.  Along the way, we will stop at the Hmong market, where products from the Royal Project are for sale. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. After lunch, we will drive for five minutes to the starting point of our hike, the wonderful Pha Dok Siew Nature Trail. The length of the trail is 5.3 km. We will trek for about 1.5 hours, first along the Pha Dok Siew waterfall and then through the fields of the Karen people. A local Karen guide will accompany us. The Karen people of the village of Ban Mae Klang Luang designed the trail and are the caretakers. It is a beautiful walk: you will descend along the waterfall via bamboo bridges and stairs with bamboo railings to the rice fields of the Karen village.

Thundering Waterfalls of Doi Inthanon

This multi-tiered waterfall cascades towards the Karen village of Ban Mae Klang Luang, where our trek ends. After this, we will spend some time in the village and learn about coffee cultivation. This village is famous for its delicious coffee, so we will taste a cup. The view over the rice fields is charming. After this, it is time to return to Chiang Mai. We will stop at the thundering Vachirathan waterfall, the most popular of the Doi Inthanon National Park, along the way. After an exhilarating day, we will drop you off at your hotel. We hope you enjoyed the Doi Inthanon Waterfalls trip. Please also check out our other Doi Inthanon day tours: Doi Inthanon: Hiking the Nature Trails and The Magnificent Nature Trails of Doi Inthanon. We also offer multiple-day tours under the category Classic Trekking.