The Mountain Everyone Can See
The temple on the ridge above Chiang Mai, the royal gardens behind it, and a Hmong village at the end of the road — all before lunch.
You can see this mountain from almost anywhere in Chiang Mai, which is exactly why most visitors leave it until last and then wish they had come first. The road up is Route 1004, and it starts within the city — you are climbing within ten minutes of leaving Nimmanhaemin. What follows is fifteen kilometres of smooth switchbacks through forest, cooler with every bend, with the city dropping away behind you in gaps between the trees.
Go early. The temple is at its best before the tour buses arrive, and the haze that settles over the valley later in the day takes the view with it.
The route
Stop by stop, with the drive between each.
- 1
Huay Kaew Waterfall
A short stop at the foot of the mountain, five minutes from the university. Worth it mainly as a way to start the climb slowly.
A small fall of about ten metres inside Doi Suthep–Pui National Park, running all year. It is close enough to the city to reach on foot from the zoo.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 19 min · 9 km - 2
Wat Pha Lat
The temple most people drive straight past. A quiet forest monastery built into a stream, with moss on the stonework and almost nobody there. The old pilgrim path, the Monk's Trail, arrives here on foot from below.
A small temple in forest on the side of Doi Suthep, founded in the 14th century as the place where pilgrims rested on the walk up to Doi Suthep. The Monk's Trail still arrives at it, and it is at its best in the rains, when the stream through the grounds is full.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 9 min · 5 km - 3
Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
The reason for the road. A naga staircase of just over three hundred steps climbs to a terrace with a gilded chedi at its centre, and on a clear morning the whole valley lies below the balustrade. There is a funicular for anyone who would rather not take the steps.
The temple above the city, at the top of the road Khruba Sri Wichai's volunteers cut in 1934. A naga staircase of 306 steps climbs to a terrace with a gilded chedi at the centre and the whole valley below it.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 12 min · 6 km - 4
Bhubing Palace Gardens
The royal winter residence. The house is closed to visitors, but the gardens — roses, ferns, cool-climate planting that has no business being in Thailand — are the point. Check before you go: the grounds close when the royal family is in residence, and there is a dress code.
The royal family's winter residence above Doi Suthep, open to visitors when nobody is in residence. The gardens are the reason to stop: roses that only grow at this altitude, a fern house and a reservoir with a fountain. Dress as you would for a temple.
Wikipedia →whyyan · CC BY 2.0 11 min · 6 km - 5
Doi Pui Hmong Village
The end of the road, a Hmong settlement with a market, a small museum and terraced flower gardens. It is a working village that has learned to receive visitors; treat the lanes as somebody's street rather than an attraction.
A Hmong village high on Doi Pui, the granite peak that stands with Doi Suthep at 1,685 metres. There is a small museum of hill-tribe dress and tools in the village.
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 7 min · 3 km
Montha Than Waterfall, optional
Nine tiers inside the national park on the far side of the ridge, of which two are open to visitors. It is worth an hour if you have one, but be warned about the access: it is a forest track, and the two mapping services we measure with disagree wildly about it — one calls the detour forty minutes each way, the other over three hours. Ask us before you set off, and do not attempt it in a low car after rain.
Best time to go
Year-round, and the closest thing Chiang Mai has to a guaranteed half day. November to February is clearest. In the green season the afternoon rain arrives fast on this mountain, so ride it in the morning. February to April the valley view is often lost to haze even when the sky above the ridge is blue.
Before you set off
Traffic drives on the left. Use engine braking on the way down rather than riding the brakes; the descent is where most visitor accidents on this road happen. There is a foreigner entry fee at the temple. Dress modestly — shoulders and knees covered — for both the temple and the palace. Parking at the temple fills by mid-morning, which is one more argument for a bike.
Places on this route were suggested by TrueID Travel — waterfalls of Chiang Mai. Distances and drive times are our own, measured stop by stop.
