Doi Inthanon National Park is a 1,005 square kilometre area which includes Thailand's highest mountain and areas of dense virgin rain forest. At the foot of the mountain you find the lovely Mae Klang Falls, Chiang Mai's most photographed waterfall.

HISTORY Karen hilltribe people began to settle on the lower slopes of the mountain 150 years ago, circa 1850. Pamon village -a beautiful Karen village- is one of the oldest settlements in the park. 100 YEARS AGO Until early in this century, this mountain was known as Doi Ang Ka. The last ruler of the Lanna Kingdom, King Inthravitchayanon, decreed that his remains should be placed at the summit to remind the people of his love and respect for this important place. He died in l898, and his remains were brought by pony train to the mountain. Later, his daughter established a beautiful chedi to honor her father, and the name of the mountain was changed to Doi Inthanon in honor of the memory of the last King of Chiang Mai. To this day, people come to the summit to pay homage to the former ruler. The Hmong people began to move into the region about 70 years ago, and the village of Khun Klang was established about 1925. The Hmong were traditionally opium growers, and the upper slopes of this mountain were once covered in opium poppies. An unfortunate consequence of the opium trade was its devastating impact on the environment; the hills of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces are seriously deforested and depleted from years of opium production. 25 YEARS AGO TO THE PRESENT Mr. Boonsong Lekagul, the father of the environmental movement in Thailand, made several excursions to Doi Inthanon in the 1960s, and he established his base camp (Nipompri) in Pamon. The school at Pamon retains the word 'nipompri' in its name, and villagers there can take you to see the remains of some of Mr. Boonsong Lekagul's camps. Doi Inthanon National Park was established by an act of Congress in 1966, under the supervision of Mr. Nyrung Saikon. Mr. Nyrung died in a plane crash while surveying the park in 1967, and you can visit his memorial site located just off the Ang Ka Nature Trail on the summit. It is believed that the plane Mr. Nyrung was in suffered a fuel leak, and it exploded when he lit a match for a cigarette; consequently, many people leave lighted cigarettes at the memorial to honor the park's former supervisor. In the 1970s, the government started an active opium suppression and drug rehabilitation program to combat the problems associated with the opium trade. As part of that program, the King established a Royal Project in Khun Klang village to teach the Hmong people to grow non-opium flower crops. The Project is open to visitors all year. The radar station and the road to the summit were constructed in 1972 by the American Army Corps of Engineers - allowing easy access to the summit area.

It also supports thirty-one hilltribe villages, many government agencies, and numerous royal projects.

Located at the summit is a shrine to Chao Inthanon, a former prince of Chiang Mai.

WAT PRATHAD SI CHOM TONG DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK BIRDS OF DOI INTHANON

THE MEO Also known as the Hmong and numbering around 85,000 in Thailand, the Meo are the second largest group of mountain people here (after the Karen) and account for 15% of all tribesmen here. Possibly originating in Mongolia, they are to be found throughout southern China, in Vietnam and Laos. The Meo are sub-divided into 'white', 'blue' and 'armband' groups, based on the style of the women's clothing. Confusingly the 'blue', whose womenfolk wear distinctive indigo-dyed pleated skirts with batik designs, are also known as 'black', 'flowery' and 'striped'! Familty ties are strong in Meo communities, one of the results of the severe persecution they have suffered for generations in China and Laos, forcing them to constantly search for safe locations. Perhaps their extremely strong urge for independence and freedom has stimulated many concerted attempts by authoritarian regimes to drive them out or wipe them out. The Meo came to world attention in the 60's and 70's due to their fierce resistance against the communist Pathet Lao, with background aid from the USA. Meo groups in Thailand comprise many refugees from Laos and indeed many are still housed in refugee camps Primarily farmers, they prefer to site their villages at high altitudes (1,000-1,200m) to grow rice, corn and opium. Needlesss to say, they have been the object of much attention by authorities urging them to cultivate other types of cash crop than the infamous poppy. These moves have also caused the Meo to look for different types of income and over the past 15 years or so they have acquired the reputation of being astute traders, often buying produce from other mountain peoples and selling it for healthy profits in the markets of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Their religious beliefs combine worship of ancestors with the spirits of nature and shamanism. They tend to be cautious with strangers, but become friendly and hospitable if their confidence is gained. Information obtained from: Window of Chiang Mai, published by the Knowledge Center, 79/1 Kotchasarn Rd, Chiangmai 50100

	CM08 - DOI INTHANON AND WATERFALL DAILY 9:00 A.M - 4:00 P.M. THB 1,000/pax - CHILD 50% Adult(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Child(ren): 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Date: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 January February March April May June July August September October November December Time:Full day No pre-payment required with confirmed hotel reservation Pick-up at airport or hotel included in prices