(originally written September 8th, 2018)
*EDIT* 6 January 2019: Regrettably I’ve been informed from other travelers that the Thai government has recently beefed up all their security around here (I’m betting because it’s now the on season). The barbed wire fence has been replaced and they often have at least one guard on the trail. So sadly this may not be possible anymore. Sorry everyone 🙁 but still worth a try, especially in the off season (March – November)!
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If you’ve found this, then it’s safe to assume you know about Doi Luang Chiang Dao’s reputation as Thailand’s best hike and can’t turn down the opportunity to summit it yourself! At 2175 meters, it’s the 3rd highest peak in Thailand (but, in my opinion, the most dramatic!). It easily stands out as the hallmark of Chiang Dao National Park, which can be found just outside the actual town of Chiang Dao. And the area is quite accessible– an easy 90 minute drive from Chiang Mai, straight up Route 107. Hiking it has been my best adventure yet– definitely the highlight of my time in Northern Thailand so far– but I was very frustrated trying to find any information about it online beforehand. So if this adventure interests you, here’s what you need to know!
Read This First!
A few important caveats:
- The activity described here (hiking Doi Luang Chiang Dao without a certified guide) is illegal and everything in this article is hypothetical of course…
- This is based off of my (hypothetical) experience hiking in September 2018– there are big differences depending on the season you’re there which I will note, but you should always do your own thorough research, listen to your gut, track weather conditions, and take what I say with a grain of salt.
- If you’re hiking out of season (not between November-April), then the trail may be VERY poorly maintained. Like totally grown over with tall grasses and weeds– this is how it was for us in September. So if you can’t handle having nature all over you the whole time or don’t want to deal with several grass cuts/burrs/thorns/weird bristly caterpillars, then this may not be for you. Try going during season when the trail is more maintained and clear.
- I wouldn’t recommend going alone. This is what I originally wanted to do but turned around less than 1 km in since the trail was so grown over and virtually non-existent in some areas. I got very lucky to almost immediately run into 2 other hikers– thank you to Chris and Hannah from England, so much fun hiking with you!– so we joined forces and did it together. It may be safer to go alone during the on-season when the trail is ok, but then you may run into guided groups. Just try to find a buddy to go with you.
- Locals will say that you can’t climb it/you need 2 days/it’s too long/too hard/too much rain/etc. but really that’s all quite over-exaggerated. I don’t understand why everyone says you need 2 days to hike this, it’s a really straightforward 9 mile day-hike for anyone with medium fitness levels. It’s just the trail conditions that could cause problems.
- Get the maps.me app on your phone if you don’t already have it! There is an offline map for this trail! Really helpful for following the trail when it isn’t well marked/all overgrown.
The info:
Getting There
I’d suggest basing yourself out of Chiang Mai. You have a couple of options.
- Rent a motorbike. I recommend Mango Bike Rent! They’re very well priced (200 baht/24 hours) with quality bikes that are fun to ride. This is what I did! I rented for 2 days to have a day to explore Chiang Mai too and not be rushed in Chiang Dao, but you could theoretically rent at 5 pm, drive to Chiang Dao, hike, then be back by 5 pm the next day if you pushed it hard.
- Take the public bus. At just 40 baht it’s very cheap, but you’ll have to find your own transportation to get to the trailhead. You could risk it by hitchhiking up Route 3024 (read about people doing this), but it gives you less control and may seem suspicious. You could also rent a motorbike in Chiang Dao, and this might be the better option if you’re planning on staying in Chiang Dao for more than just a day.
Regardless of how you choose to get to Chiang Dao, leave the night before you want to hike. The drive at sunset is absolutely gorgeous (leaving Chiang Mai around 5 pm).
Just head straight up Route 107 north for 75 km and you’ll get to the area. The park itself and most of the guesthouses are off of route 3024. It’s a clear intersection where you’ll turn left off of 107.
I stayed at Chiang Dao Huts (which was quite nice, although more expensive than what I’m used to at hostels (300 baht for the one night, but I got my own room in a cool hut thing so not complaining). Chiang Dao Nest is also next door along with a couple other guesthouses that you could look around. Cheapest I saw was 250 baht/night, so not too bad but don’t expect hostel prices.
The Hike Itself
Yay the fun stuff!!! Let’s hike!
Timing:
Ok so the trail is just over 15 km round trip (about 9.5 miles). But the time it takes will be entirely dependent on its condition, how fast you go, and how much time you spend soaking in the views on top! We started at around 7:15 am and finished at 3:30 pm, complete with a few breaks, 30 minutes on top, and a whole lot of bushwhacking. I’ve read about others who hiked from 7 am to 4 pm during on-season with good trail conditions. So I’d say expect it to take somewhere between 7 – 10 hours. 7 would be if you’re fast and the trail is good, 10 if you’re slow and the trail is bad.
You should try to start no later than 7-7:30 am just to be safe. Plus it’s nice to get back in the mid-afternoon to shower and relax before eating a very satisfying dinner.
Getting to the trailhead:
If you have your own motorbike, then this is very straightforward. From the Chiang Dao Huts/Nest area, it will take about 30 mins to get to the trailhead. Just head up Route 3024 (northwest direction, towards that huge mountain you see) and stay on it. You’ll pass the booth to pay your entrance fee pretty quickly (100 baht for me during off season but 200 baht + vehicle charge in the on-season). Plug this into Google Maps or GPS for the exact location of the booth–>19°24’49.0″N, 98°54’57.5″E. Then just continue on up the road (and expect really gorgeous views of the mountains!!!) until you reach this point–>19°24.762’N, 98°51.539’E.
This is the start! It’s a little clearing on the left with enough space for a couple cars/motorbikes to park. It’s not very easy to miss, but it’s also not entirely obvious. There will likely be no one there. The trail starts on the left hand side with the “No Entry” sign. Hahahah just go around it.
Less than a hundred meters later there will be another big gate with a sign in Thai and a barbed wire fence. Scary, I know. But if you look to the right of the trail, you’ll see that you can easily climb through a hole in the barbed wire. No problem. Nature wasn’t meant to be fenced off. And you’re in!
The trail itself:
Download the maps.me app if you don’t have it already! The Northern Thailand map has the Doi Luang Chiang Dao trail on it, so make sure to have this ready to go before you head into the National Park.
The trail will start off nice and pleasant and should be decently straightforward to follow. However, if it’s as unmaintained as it was when I saw it, expect the first 2 km to get very very grassy quickly. You can tell where the trail is by looking for a slight lull in the grasses, and if you look down through the grass, the well-trodden solid clay base is pretty consistent. The maps.me offline map will be very helpful in tracking your location in case something goes wrong. Good news is that this beginning part is probably the worst of the whole thing. It maybe gets as bad as this again for the kilometer before the campsite near the top, but by then you’re so close and used to it that it won’t matter as much.
There’s only one major fork– it’s marked on the maps.me map and you will take a left. This is about 3.5 kilometers in, and the fork is at this location–> 19°23’35.4″N, 98°51’54.9″E. It probably takes about 2 hours to get here– it’s basically halfway.
Up until the fork, especially in kilometers 2 and 3, the trail will be relatively steep. However, it flattens out as you travel across the valley. Here you’ll pass by some banana trees and have a little less bushwhacking to do (but still a good deal). From the fork, you’ll continue on for 3.2 km (2 miles) to the campsite. It’s not much of a camp, but you may see a little grill or some metal bowls leftover. From here it’s only 30 mins or less to the top!
From the campsite follow the trail straight out (kind of to the left). The summit is the large knoll towards the left. It’s hard to understand how it could be taller than all the other peaks you see around you but it is. And it’s only .6 km (.4 miles) away! The trail will seem like it’s going downhill away from the summit, but you’ll make a very noticeable sharp left about 400 m from the top for the final ascent. This should be pretty clear to see, plus you can track it on the offline map.
The steepest climb comes in the last 300m, and it’s so worth it. There’s also some fun scrambling involved. Highlight of the hike for sure.
You made it!
Don’t be discouraged if there’s clouds, the wind often moves quickly and if you wait around some of the views in different directions may clear up. We got really lucky and had the views clear out despite arriving to only see gray fog at first.
The return should be a lot easier since you know what you’re doing and can track the trail better, but still be careful! Walking downhill makes the trail that much more slippery, and the grass cuts a bit more now that the dew has dried up. We got down much faster than we got up, but it seemed much more mentally challenging for some reason. That’s also because you end with the worst section–the steep, overly grassy, slippery part from the beginning– so it takes a lot of focus at the end of the day.
Climb back out of the barbed wire fence, hop on your motorbike, and head back towards town like nothing happened! And treat yourself to a much-needed shower and dinner. If you’re not staying another night in Chiang Dao you can ask your previous guesthouse for a shower (they almost always say yes) and be on the road to Chiang Mai by 4 or 5ish. Solid day of motorbiking and hiking in the mountains– can’t get much better than that!
So to recap:
- Climb through the barbed wire fence after the Do Not Enter sign
- Expect the first 3 km to be steep and very grassy. Be careful not to roll an ankle or slip on the clay base (very slick!). This is the toughest part.
- Turn left at the fork 3.5 km in.
- Cruise through the flat valley for another 3.2 km to the campsite. Expect a lot more grass but nothing worse than you’ve seen already. And also expect some great views of the surrounding peaks. The first 2 km of this section is pretty flat and the 3rd km is steeper again as you approach camp.
- Go out the left side of the camp. The trail will seem like it’s going downhill and away from the summit, but you’ll take a sharp left about 400 m from the summit for the final climb up.
- You made it! Enjoy the summit. Eat some food. Take some pictures.
- Return the same way.
Other Logistics
- Buying trail food: After you check in to wherever you choose to stay near the National Park, head over to Chiang Dao (back on 3024 but cross over 107 and continue straight for a few kilometers). If you turn right and head down the center of town there’s a Tesco mart where you can buy some much needed hiking snacks/lunch food for the next day. Or you could be proactive and stop at one of the many 7 Elevens on the drive to Chiang Dao (if you have enough room to store it under the seat of your scooter). I’d personally recommend getting some fruit (fresh mango/dragonfruit!) and candy bars.
- Dealing with bugs: I love UltraThon repellent lotion– it lasts all day after you rub it on once and really did keep the bugs off of me (but not the grasses). But the bugs won’t hurt you; they were mostly harmless ants/flies and no mosquitoes.
- Dealing with grass cuts: First off, seems obvious, but wear pants and tall socks. This helps, even if you’re hot because of it. Up to you if you prefer to deal with grass cuts versus heat for wearing long sleeves (I went without and my arms were mostly fine). Also, post-hike is a great opportunity to use Tiger Balm! Really made my cuts (and muscles) feel so much better. And carrying a good old-fashioned stick with you to push some grass away or quickly scrape bugs/caterpillars off of you is helpful.
- Dealing with a hard-to-follow trail: If you have any troubles on the way up, make notes of what you remember and try your best to clear the trail/stomp down hard on the grasses for your way down! Little things like this will help.
- Buying a National Park pass: There is a booth on Route 3024 where you’ll stop to pay a 100 baht entrance fee. It opens at 7 am, and is usually 200 baht during the main season. You don’t get a piece of paper or sticker or anything to show that you’ve paid, it’s just as you pass through. But I can’t speak to how it works during the on-season.
If All Else Fails
No worries! There are plenty of other great things to do around Chiang Dao, and you will surely experience other amazing hikes soon! Here are some alternatives for a day in Chiang Dao:
- Visit the Chiang Dao Caves
- Motorbike Route 3024 through Chiang Dao National Park (or run some of it if you really want a physical challenge!)
- Visit the Hot Springs in Pha Deng National Park
- Swim in the Mae Taeng River
- Visit a Long Neck Karen Tribe
- Ask the park ranger or guesthouse owner for a local map– there are other walking trails in the area!
- Visit Wat Tham Pha Plong
Make your own adventure! Hop on your scooter or bike or throw on running shoes and head out! Could turn out to be even more awesome.
