Doi Inthanon

Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand, a national park south-west of Chiang Mai, and the standard day out of the city for anyone who has had enough of temples. The road climbs past waterfalls through rice terraces and hill-tribe villages to a summit wrapped in cloud forest, with the twin royal pagodas built for the late king and queen on a ridge just below it.

The entrance fee is one of the few we can state flatly. The Department of National Parks’ own table gives 300 baht for a foreign adult and 150 for a child, against 60 and 30 for Thai visitors. It is collected at the park checkpoint on the way up.

Kew Mae Pan is shut until November. The Kew Mae Pan nature trail near the summit is closed every year for the rains. The department’s 2026 closure announcement sets it, with the Lan Sadet waterfall, at 1 June to 31 October, so on the day we checked it was shut and due to reopen on 1 November. If the trail is the reason you are going, go after that date.

What we could not confirm. Whether the twin pagodas still charge their own admission, whether the trail still requires a local guide, and the park’s gate hours. The department’s pages would not load, so these are the things to ask at the checkpoint rather than rules we can source. The park office is on 053-286-729.

It is cold, genuinely. The summit is far higher than anywhere else you will stand in Thailand and noticeably colder than the city below, especially early in the day in the cool season. Bring a layer, which is not advice you will get anywhere else in this country.

Doing it independently or on a tour. The road is good and a hired car or a songthaew from Chom Thong gets you there, but most visitors take a day tour, which handles the driving and the checkpoint. We will list the tours that clear our bar separately once we have verified them.

What we have not done. Been up there.