DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK

After a 45 minute drive, you have arrived at Doi Inthanon National Park, the highest point in Thailand, 2,595 meters (8,514 ft) above sea level.

Doi Inthanon National Park was established by an act of Congress in 1966 and now encompasses almost 500 square kilometers of land.

It is an important source of water for Chiangmai Province, and for the nation; the waters that fall on this mountain feed the Mae Chaem and Mae Ping Rivers, and eventually flow through the Chao Phraya River to the Gulf of Thailand.

It is home to many endemic species of birds, plants, and insects, and it is a very important wintering ground for migrating birds.

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

Located at the summit - where you stop for the view and take a short nature walk through the rain forest - is a shrine to Chao Inthanon, a former prince of Chiang Mai.

Two remarkable chedi have been recently built at Km. 41 to honour their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. The structures - which stand amidst tended garden of flowers and vegetables - show modernistic interpretations of traditional Buddhist themes portrayed in copper-coloured tiles and elaborate interior murals.