Monday 21st December
09.00 amLeave Shewe Wana Suite Resort
10.40 am arrive Doi Inthanon National Park Admission: 200THB for adults
Cool year round and a good respite in Thailand's hot season, temperatures In December and January drop to around 6 C.
Forests include evergreen, pine and mixed deciduous teak & mountain pine. Wildlife is decreasing due to encroachment and poaching, but the more remote area will have gibbon, serow, deer, tigers, hare, wild pigs.
http://www.travelphotoreport.com/2012/12/15/visiting-highest-peak-thailand-doi-inthanon/
This is the highest peak in Thailand, and the national park that surrounds it is filled with some of the many the natural wonders that make the country such a draw in the first place. You can do some trekking and hike the mountain, or take a more leisurely route around the park. Several waterfalls and a hill tribe village are other draws, along with two pagodas built to honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. You'll want to either hire a driver for the day or rent a motorbike and see the sites on your own, as you won't be able to make your way through the entire park on foot. But it's only about a two-hour drive from the city, so if you leave early, you can get in a full and satisfying day on the mountain
Mae Ya Waterfall ( must see this waterfall)
Thought to be the highest in Thailand and is well worth the extra effort to get there. Park officials estimate that the Mae Ya River plunges more than 250 meters at this point. It is a beautiful, fanning cascade, dropping down an ever-widening series of steps -- without a doubt, a photographic favourite
Mae Klang Waterfall Mae Glang Waterfall
Because of its easy access, this unusual waterfall has been visited by Thai people for many years and they continue to come in large numbers on any sunny day in the year to swim, picnic and relax in this beautiful setting. The rapids and waterfall spill over a wide exposure of granite and can be approached closely. Visitors are asked to exercise caution around the waterfall area and while swimming either above or below the falls. A well-maintained trail leads up the side of the waterfall, and continues to the Visitor Center and beyond.
Brichinda Cave (Km 9)
This impressive limestone cave has a gigantic entrance chamber and tower and a second huge chamber with a skylight opening to the surface. It can be reached in about one hour from the main road, or in less time if the beginning portion of the route is cycled.
Vachiratharn Waterfall (Km. 20.8)
The falls are reached by a short, easy trail from the parking area. Vachiratharn waters tumble down granite escarpment, creating a misty veil of great beauty. Visitors should be very cautious: three people have fallen to their deaths while taking photographs. Just a short distance on the main road beyond Vachiratharn is the small Karen hill tribe village, Ban Sop Had. Turn right just past the bridge and you will find the village a few hundred meters up the dirt access road.
Park Headquarters (Km 30.8)
The headquarters building has a small camping space nearby, and staff will provide assistance. Access to the Hmong village Ban Khun Klang, the guest house compound, and Siriphum Waterfalls via road intersecting with the main summit road at Km 30.4. A excellent view of Siriphum can be enjoyed by walking or cycling along the track which forks left from the main road just beyond the entrance to the guest house compound. The falls are actually twins: two parallel plumes named for King Bhumipol. and Queen Sirikit.
Napamaytanidol Chedi (Km 41)
Continuing north of the main summit road, turn left at km 41.8 over a bridge on a paved road which leads to a magnificent chedi completed in 1989 to honor the 60th birthday of King Bhumipol.
Gew Mae Pan Trail
One of the most beautiful and rewarding walks in the park is a new trail which begins a short distance up the main summit road from Napamaytanidol. The path leads for a kilometer or more through dense, moist evergreen forest, then emerges and follows the top of a steep slope bordering the canyon headwaters of the Mae Pan River. Dotted with red rhododendron, the trail proceeds southward for another kilometer with fine, open views to the west, then re-enters the forest and eventually terminates at Napamaytanidol Chedi. Two hours would allow a leisurely walk with camera stops.
Summit of Doi Inthanon (Km 48)
The drive to the summit offers some fine views, especially during November and December, before the dry season haze has become well established. On your visit to the summit stupa containing the remains of King Inthawidhayanon, be sure to read the English translation on the back of the marble plaque nearby. Photographing any part of the radar station is forbidden, but visitors may take pictures freely of any other subject.
On the main road and opposite the summit Ranger Station is a sign in Thai marking a short, self-guided nature trail which descends to a sphagnum bog in a small karst depression The bog area. which displays the red blossomed Rhododendron delavayi, comes nearest to a true montane forest formation and is a good location for bird-watching. If you continue around the bog and down a short distance, you will reach a memorial shrine marking the site of a helicopter crash which occurred in the mid-seventies and killed the first superintendent of this park.
The Mae Chaem road
A scenic pleasure. From the start at Km 38 on the main summit road, the first kilometers travel through some of the most lush forest on the mountain. Then the road comes out into the open and follows a descending ridge with fine views.
Mae Pan Area
At Km 6.6 on the Mae Chaem road is the turn-off to Mae Pan Waterfall, marked by a sign in Thai and English. The dirt access road descends about two kilometers to the Ranger Station and campground and is suitable for any vehicle although the road can be slippery on the uphill return after a heavy rain. The area is quiet, off the beaten track, and can be described as the back country of Doi Inthanon Park. It offers a rewarding loop hike of 1.5 to 2 hours through untouched terrain with small waterfalls and tumbling creeks along most of the route. Visitors can walk the 800 meters to Mae Pan Falls and back again, as well as the 200 meters to Huai Sai Luaeng Falls just beyond the campground. Both of these trails are clear and well-maintained.
The Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong
04.00 pm leave park
05.50 pm arrive Shewe Wana Suite Resort