🌄 **[Chiang Mai Doi Suthep Hiking Guide: A Pilgrimage Road Intertwined with Clouds and Stone Steps]** 📜

#2月好去地方2025 Hiking on Doi Suthep is a long conversation with yourself, the stone steps are a relief for your feet, and the scenery is a refreshing sight for your eyes. When you stand on the top of the mountain panting, you will find that what you conquered is not the height, but the calmness of "since you are here, why rush?" 🌿 --- ### **Background introduction** Doi Suthep is the ridge of faith in Chiang Mai, with an altitude of 1,676 meters. Legend has it that it was named after the monk White Elephant chose the site to build the temple. The mountain trail has been walked by pilgrims since ancient times. From the secret jungle to the magnificent Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, this 11-kilometer stone staircase is both a physical test and a spiritual cleansing journey. --- ### **Hiking Guide** 1. **Route sections**: Starting point: the hill behind Chiang Mai University → 4 km to Wat Phra That ... 2. **Physical energy allocation**: The first half is flat, and the stairs rise steeply in the second half. It is recommended to bring trekking poles. 3. **Cultural Highlights**: Visit the Pala Temple on the way and feel the centuries-old pilgrimage context at the "Monk Trail" stone tablet. --- ### **Transportation Guide** - **Shuttle Bus**: There is a shuttle bus at the foot of Doi Suthep Temple (50 baht one way), but hikers are advised to start from the back of the university. - **Return suggestion**: You can take a songthaew to the city (about 80 baht/person) or book a chartered car. - **Self-driving precautions**: Mountain roads are winding and rockfall is likely to occur during the rainy season, so drive carefully. --- ### **Tips** ⚠️ Essential items: 1.5 liters of water, sun hat, light raincoat (the weather in the mountains is changeable). ⚠️ Depart before 6am to avoid the midday sun and afternoon thunderstorms. 👟 Wear hiking shoes with strong grip, as some stone steps are covered with moss and slippery. 📿 If you encounter a monk begging for alms, you can silently put your hands together and greet him, but do not disturb his practice. --- ### **Photography check-in spots** 1. **Cloud Sea Observation Deck**: Located 1 km above the Pala Temple, it captures the ink-splashing artistic conception of the mountains shrouded in fog. 2. **Century-old banyan tree root wall**: The aerial roots that surround the mountain path are like natural reliefs, suitable for silhouette photos of people. 3. **Golden Stairs of Shuanglong Temple**: With the Naga dragon statue in the foreground, take a photo of the stairs leading to heaven. 📸 It is recommended to use a telephoto lens to compress the layers of clouds and fog, and the best photos are taken when the morning light is oblique. #Chiangmai