Doi Tao Lake ‘Let’s spend a night at this lovely natural atmosphere’

The name ‘Doi Tao Lake’ may sounds familiar for someone. However, if this doesn’t ring a bell to you, then you should know some stories of it before getting to know about your activities if you want to have a vacation there.

Doi Tao Lake is a beautiful lake and great tourist attraction in Chiang Mai, Thailand, of course. But what make it so fabulous and impressive for many tourists? Let’s see.

One of the things that make Doi Tao Lake a well-known place, is the old music band named ‘Nok Lae’, which was established many ten years ago. The band was based in Doi Tao County of Chiang Mai. And if someone talk about this band, they probably think of Doi Tao Lake too.

The above paragraph is just a small part. But stories of Doi Tao Lake is quite longer. About 35 years ago, Bhumibol Dam was built and Doi Tao Lake has been the river source of the dam. Metaphorically, Doi Tao Lake is like an aorta that transfer blood from a heart to various parts of a body. Moreoever, it is also the river source of Ping River and ends itself at Tak Province.

There have been some ethnic groups living around the lake. They have supported their lives by fishing and planting. As time went by, their careers have developed until many good services and business, for instances, restaurants, raft restaurants, and shelthers for tourists.

Now, if you want to spend your day and night at Doi Tao Lake, it will be a great idea. This is a lovely natural place with good origin anyway. You may not belive that there is a huge lake on a mountaintop area, but that is true anyway. The word ‘doi’ means mountain or hill in English. Therefore you know that Doi Tao is not a smooth land, but a land on high high mountains. The sight of a lake being surrounded with green valleys are so stunning. You probably don’t want to leave.

It will be best if you spend at least one night at Doi Tao Lake, so that you will have a full chance of admiring all gorgeous natural surroundings. There are many types of shelters around the area. They are raft shelthers, of course. Raft shelters mean that they float on the water, not being located on the ground, which will give you super relaxing atmosphere. Just imagine you wake up in the morning and look out of your window, seeing cool water all around you.

The prices for these raft shelters depend on the season you go, the room size, and the amount of guests. For instances, a big raft may cost about 1,800 Baht for renting, if you want to spend a night. A small raft cost about 1,000 Baht for overnight renting. Don’t worry, you will be fully comfortable. These raft shelthers have most everything for you. They have shower rooms, bedrooms, beds, blankets, pillows, kitchen tools, restaurants, and entertainment zones for you. These are really worthy. The prices seem not expensive at all when they’re compared to these convenient services.

You can have a relaxing time of your own at Doi Tao Lake. You can design your own holiday. You may spend a night or two nights. On your first day, you may rent a guide ship to take you for a sightseeing around the lake. (The price for a guide ship is 1,000 Baht per hour.***) At night, you may cook something to eat in your shelter with your family and watch some movies on your devices. The next days, you may wander around the lake, doing leisure exercises, grab something to eat or shop for some fresh fishes sold by the villagers, depending on your demand.

credit : http://www.siamfishing.com

How to get there 

In the past, the route to Doi Tao Lake is quite rough and inconvenient. But now it’s much better and the road connects to Hod County of Chiang Mai.

In order to get to Doi Tao Lake, you should start your trip from Chiang Mai downtown. Just drive patiently along the road No.61867 for about 125 kilometres and you will reach your destination.

Nearby Places 

• Wat Doi Tao

Located just about 27 kilometres away from Doi Tao Lake, you drive for about 40 minutes and you will arrive at the place.

• Wat Phra Buddhabat Tamo

This is one of the historic temples in Chiang Mai. Wat Phra Buddhabat Tamo is the place that the four Buddhas came to bless the teachable creatures. Moreover, a lot of Buddhism followers have been practicing Dhamma at the temple until their mind reach the highest point of peace. To go to this temple, it’s not difficult. It’s located just about 44 kilometres away from Doi Tao Lake and requires only 52 minutes of driving.