Mae Tho National Park ‘Let’s go hiking on the high mountain’

Do you want to see mountains all around you at least once in your lifetime? Won’t it be nice if you wake up in the morning and fill your lungs with fresh air?     

If your answer is ‘yes’, then ‘Mae Tho National Park’ always welcomes you.

Mae Tho National Park is a national park in Chiang Mai. It’s located both within the area of Mae-Lai Conservative Forest of Hod County, and Mae-Jam Conservative Forest of Mae-Jam County. The landscape mostly consists of high mountains. The highest one is the peak of Doi Kiu Rai Mong, about 1,699 metres higher than the medium sea level.

The national park is located on a thousand-metred high area and surrounded with valleyes. Therefore the weather is cold almost all year round. However, there are still 3 different seasons around there. Rainy seasons starts from May to September. In this season, the highest average temperature is 25 degree Celcius and the lowest is 10 degree Celcius. Winter starts from October to February. During winter, the scenery at Mae Tho may look more beautiful than any other seasons, but you have to be extra careful. You should dress in thick costumes if you want to travel during this season, because the lowest temperature is about 4 degree Celcius! That’s not a prank, really. If you wear a short-sleeved shirt or a pair of shorts in that level of temperature, you may feel like you’re in a fridge. Remember, it’s cold at Mae Tho national Park, even during summer. During summer, the highest temperature is 30 degree Celcius and the lowest is 12 degree Celcius.

There are many kinds of forests and animals at Maetho national park. Mainly, there are evergreen rain forest, mixed forest, evergreen mountain forest etc. About animals, there are bulls, sambars, monkeys, wild elephants, peacocks etc. You will feel like you’re in a paradise, seeing animals live their lives in the middle of flawless nature.

There are many activities and minor tourist attractions waiting for you at Mae Tho national park. But, mostly, there are waterfalls and going hiking. Anyway, these are fabulous already. Because, speaking of a national park, ones of the things you should never miss most are these two.

Well, let’s see what you can do at Mae Tho. Here are some nature-exploring paths, and minor tourist attractions.

1. Ban Mae Ping Noi-Sob Mae Toom-Sob Huai Kong Pae : This is quite a long path. During the path, you can stop by at Huai Mae Jua Waterfall for a sightseeing. Or you can explore Luang Mae Toom Cave, which there are sparkling stalactites inside. Beside, rafting along Mae Jam Waterway is also interesting.
2. Doi Mae Tho : This is a stunning sightseeing spot. It’s located near the headquarter of the national park. If you go up there, you will be able to see mountains in a great distance. Moreover, you will see the fog around you in the morning too.
3. Mae Lid Waterfall : This is a medium-sized waterfall. It’s about 12-15 metres high and about 8-10 metres wide. It’s may be not too stunning, but it’s beautiful.
4. Mae Ab Waterfall : Almost as big as Mae Lid Waterfall, this one is about 6 kilometres away from the headquarter of the national park.
5. Ban Mae Khan-Sob Mae Toom-Sob Huai Kong Pae : If you’re in love with rafting, then you should choose this path. This path has been specially prepared for rafting activity. You can rent a raft and start your rafting along Mae Jam Waterway. But, to do so, you need for permission from the national park first.

In case you want to spend the nights, there are some camping spots available. You can bring your own tent and camping equipments. Just set up your own camp somewhere. It will be nice to sleep in the middle of nature sometimes. Just remember, always keep the area clean. Don’t ruin beautiful nature.

For further information, you may visit the website www.dnp.go.th, which is the website of Department of National Park.

How to get there 

Start your trip from Chiang Mai downtown, follow the Highway No.108(Chiang Mai-Hod) for about 89 kilometres until you reach Hod County. Then keep going along the same highway, but stay within the path Hod-Mae Sariang. At that point, you should pass the headquarter of Op Luang National Park. Then, after you find Ban Kong Loi, you have to turn right into the Highway No.1270(Ban Kong Loi-Mae Tho). Keep going along the path for about 16 kilometres. Finally, you will reach the headquarter of Mae Tho National Park.