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Thailand Mountain Trail has spent several years to find the most beautiful mountain trails around Chiang Mai. At the beginning of our research in 2013, we investigated the whole Doi Pui Suthep national park located just at the doorstep of the city. We were immediately seduced by the beauty and wildness of those areas which was still little known at this time.
This trip will lead us on old monk trails from the valley of Chiang Mai to the beautiful Sai Yoi and Monthatan waterfalls. The route right in the middle of the jungle was previously used by monks and pilgrims to reach sacred temples high in the mountains. If it is now our most accessible one-day hiking trip, it requires climbing a steep way up to finally discover the hidden treasures of this National Park.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRIP
1'900
PICK UP AT YOUR HOTEL (8.00-8.30 AM)
CHIANG MAI CITY (15 MIN TRANSFER FROM TMT)
TEMPLES,
JUNGLE, WATERFALLS
MONTHATAN WATERFALL (20 MIN TRANSFER TO TMT) DROP OFF AT YOUR HOTEL (2.00-3.00 PM)
ALL INCLUSIVE
SEE DETAILS (LINK)
4-5 HOURS TREKKING DAILY
95% SINGLE TRACK / 5% DOUBLE TRACK
AVAILABLE ALL YEAR
SUBJECT TO THE PARK’S OPENING
The route starts just at the doorsteps of Chiang Mai with a 10-minute drive from the city center. After watching the people from Chiang Mai make offerings to monks, we will take an old pilgrim trail to Wat Palad. It’s a temple inhabited by forest monks distinguished by their red robes. In the morning the atmosphere of this temple located in the jungle above the valley of Chiang Mai is wonderful.
The route is now steeper to the temple of Wat Doi Suthep. It’s another temple but a completely different atmosphere. Located at the top of the mountain, Wat Doi Suthep is one of the most sacred temples in Thailand. It was built at the time of the Lan Na kingdom 650 years ago, after an elephant carrying a Budha relic stopped there. We arrive at the back of the temple and discover suddenly the beauty of the temple and the wide view overlooking Chiang Mai.
Just behind the temple, we take a hidden path that plunges headlong into the jungle. This route was created in the beginning of the last century after some Hmong people coming from Laos decided to settle in this mountain and grow poppy crops. Trekking here under a thick canopy of trees and climbing plants, in the green shade, intensifies physical sensations. It’s an experience like no other.
After 3 kilometers flat in a wonderful atmosphere, we start going down. The trail is wilder and more difficult, punctuated by fallen branches and tree trunks which we have to step over. Suddenly appears in the middle of the jungle an enchanting 25-meter-high waterfall. It’s a perfect setting and we could believe this has been created on purpose like in a botanic garden. After a final hour hiking alongside the river, we finally reach another beautiful waterfall where we will have a break before going back to Chiang Mai by taxi.
