Doi Suthep Hiking Trail (Wat Pha Lat)

4 Knud Hermansen - 9 months ago

No place to park but I guess it would be possible to be dropped off here if you wanted to just do half the hike. It took us a second to find the upper trailhead. You could head right up the power line trail, but there is a nicer trail to the right (which eventually joins up with the power line

5 L Nguyen - 9 months ago

The trail head wasn’t clearly marked but I found it after reading several blogs online. I drew a map from wat pha lat below.

After you get up the first bit of dirt stairs to the rock with the view, there‘s a split: one path that goes into the trees and the other path was open but under the power lines.
We followed a random man to the left, under the power lines, which led to more natural dirt steps.

I thought I was athletic until I did this hike. I was sweating like crazy and paused several times to catch my breath. The hike was steep and unmarked but still fairly easy to follow. Took us about 1.5 hours to get to the temple.

The trail doesn’t lead straight to the temple. When the jungle trail ended, we walked on the main road up to the temple. The hike was a challenge but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stairs to the temple was the cherry on top ;)
There were loads of people at the top of the temple and red trucks (song taew) which we paid to take us back down.

5 Ryan Gilboy - 3 months ago

Do not underestimate this hike. It is hard. It is straight up. You will be drenched in sweat. You might vomit. But it’s absolutely worth it. Just bring LOTS of water.

Also, to the people who say you eventually have to walk the main road to the temple, that’s not true. When you come up to the road there is a path/driveway to the right that leads to someone’s home and looks like a dead end—it’s not. About 50 feet from the house, there is a set of stairs on the left hand side of the path that continues the hike and leads to the temple. Good luck.

4 J britt - 3 years ago

Intense hike! Definitely not for the faint of heart! Slick, mud stairs and straight up. Be prepared. Bring bug spray and good shoes. Lots of ants. Wouldn't go after rain.

3 Leslie Martinez - 2 years ago

I’m gonna be honest, I wanted to quit more than once even more than 10 times.

It was really challenging for me, not that the trek is difficult but it was steep and a good 1h walk.

A bit disappointed by the temple after such efforts lol

It was very crowded and asked an entrance fee for foreigners .

4 Brett Youngerman - 3 years ago

Short but steep hike. Easy trail to follow. It doesn’t take you directly to Doi Sudep but to the road that leads up to it.

4 Andres Lips - 2 years ago

Be prepared for a serious hike and bring plenty of water. The nature is fabulous and we were really glad we took the challenge. The only confusing part is that you have to finish the hike on highway in order to reach Doi Suthep. We took a side road but it ended nowhere.

Ps. We saw a quite sizable black snake during our hike so be cautious and do not step on any. They might or might not be poisonous.