Doi Inthanon National Park

Location

About 70 kms southwest of Chiang Mai. It takes about 1,5 hours to drive from Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon.

Protected areas

Doi Inthanon was declared a national park in 1972 and covers 482 square kilometers. Doi Inthanon National Park is sometimes called “The Roof of Thailand”.

Trekking

We offer several trekkings in Doi Inthanon National Park. We offer two one day trips, one for the rainy season and one for the dry season
For those who want to stay overnight in a Karen village we have the Two days Doi Inthanon Trekking. For those with a bit more time we offer The Doi Inthanon in Depth Trekking which takes three days.

This area is visited not too often.

Other activities

Rafting and elephant riding usually takes place in the nearby Mae Wang area.

Villages

There are Karen and Hmong villages in and around Doi Inthanon National Park.

Attractions

Mountains: Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain  of Thailand, 2776 metres above sea level. Doi Inthanon forms the watershed between the Ping River to the east and the Chaem River to the west, both of which eventually feed the Chao Phraya River, which supplies water to rice farms of the central plains and to Bangkok.

Waterfalls: the park boasts some of the biggest and most spectacular waterfalls in Northern Thailand amongst others: Mae Klang, Wachirathan, Siriphum Mae Pan and Mae Ya Falls.

Forest

Doi Inthanon has the greatest diversity of forest types in Northern Thailand. Below 1000 meters elevation, Doi Inthanon support deciduous dipterocarp forest, bamboo deciduous forest and mixed deciduous forest  that are all fairly typical of Northern Thailand. Near the summit, however, the evergreen forest, with its abundance of woody lianas and epiphytes,  constantly shrouded in mist, has a unique and enchanting atmosphere.  An epiphyte is a plant that grows non-parasitically upon another plant (such as a tree), and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and sometimes from debris accumulating around it instead of the structure it is fastened to.

Such epiphytes include brilliant green ferns and mosses, dangling lichens, and profusion of orchids and other flowering plants.
(Elliot, The National Parks and other  Wild Places of Thailand)

Fauna

Doi  Inthanon has more bird species than found in any single park in the kingdom.