Doi Inthanon rises to 2,565 metres, the tallest point in Thailand, and for much of the twentieth century it remained a remote cloud-forest frontier known only to foresters and the hill tribes who farmed its slopes. The mountain was named for King Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai, whose ashes rest near the summit in a chedi built in 1899. By the 1970s the peak had been incorporated into a national park spanning 482 square kilometres of montane evergreen forest, rhododendron groves, and sphagnum bogs — ecosystems more commonly associated with the Himalayas than tropical Southeast Asia. Today a paved road climbs all the way to the summit, making the alpine zone accessible to day visitors from Chiang Mai, 108 kilometres to the north. The journey passes through five distinct vegetation zones, each corresponding to a drop in average temperature of roughly one degree per hundred metres of elevation. Wachirathan Falls, a 70-metre cascade fed by the Nam Mae Klang, lies at the 1,000-metre contour; higher still, the twin chedis of Phra Mahathat Naphamethinidon and Naphaphonphumisiri stand at 2,200 metres, commissioned by the Royal Thai Air Force in 1987 and 1992 to honour the sixtieth birthdays of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Their polished granite and bronze finials catch the morning light above a formal garden of camellias and temperate roses that would be impossible to cultivate at lower elevations. The Kew Mae Pan nature trail, a 3-kilometre boardwalk loop, winds through dwarf rhododendron and moss forest on the mountain's western flank. It opens only during the dry season, November through May, when ground conditions permit safe passage along exposed ridges that drop sharply into the Mae Chaem watershed. Guides from the Karen village of Ban Khun Klang lead every group; the trail closure protects both the fragile topsoil and the village's role as steward of the route. In the cool season, daytime temperatures at the summit hover near 10°C, and morning fog is common. Visitors to Doi Inthanon encounter not only biological diversity but also the social geography of northern Thailand's highlands. Hmong, Karen, and Lisu communities occupy the mid-elevation belt, growing temperate vegetables and arabica coffee on terraced plots. The park's 300-baht conservation fee, introduced in the mid-1990s, funds both ranger patrols and revenue-sharing agreements with these villages, balancing conservation with the livelihoods of roughly 4,500 residents living within the park boundary.