Location: North 18.58866, East 098.48735 (GPS at the summit)
Difficulty: YDS class 1
Climbed July 4. 2018.
Information:
How to get there:
The city of Chiang Mai is a good point of reference.
Drive south-west on Hwy. 108. This road passes quite close (east side) of
the airport. The road is a (mostly) 4 lane Hwy. (2 lanes in each direction) with
a central divide. After about 50 kilometer, there are clear signs where one
should turn right onto Hwy. 1009. (sign for Doi Inthanon)
Soon after this turnoff, you enter the entrance gate to the natÃonal park.
Entrance (2018) was 300 MYR per person and 30 MYR for the car.
The road inside the park has many curves, but is a nice, paved 2-lane
road all the way to the parking area which
is right next to the summit. Route description:
The parking is located between two small local hills.
One has a military installation
and public has no access, guarded by military personel.
The other, which fortunately is the higher one, has a wide and nice
trail access directly from the parking lot.
One will arrive at the highest point within a few minutes. The first that
attracts attention is some large sculpture
with smaller sculptures in front.
The walkway turns around this sculpture
to a sign that announces the
highest point in Thailand with 4 decimal figures!
Comments:
I started from our hotel ISTY, in Chiang Mai, around 0815. The drive was
straightforward and I arrived at the parking around 1015. It was misty and
the temperature had dropped from about 33C to only 16C up here. The hike to
the summit marker was done in a couple of minutes. I stopped and looked at
the stone
with "The story of Inthanon",
then nearby another story about
the "former king.