Doi Inthanon rises 2,565 metres above sea level, making it the highest point in Thailand — a granite massif that anchors the Thanon Thong Chai Range and draws moisture from the Andaman monsoon to sustain cloud forest, rhododendron thickets, and more than 362 bird species. The mountain was named in 1899 to honour King Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai, whose ashes rest in a chedi near the summit; the king had recognised the watershed's strategic importance decades before the Royal Forest Department gazetted the area as a national park in 1972. Today Doi Inthanon National Park protects 482 square kilometres of montane evergreen forest, Karen and Hmong agricultural terraces, and seven major tributary systems that feed the Ping River and sustain the rice plains below. The twin chedis — Phra Mahathat Naphamethinidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphonphumisiri — stand 800 metres from the summit car park, built in 1987 and 1992 to mark the 60th birthdays of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. Clad in brown and purple porcelain, each stupa rises five storeys above formal gardens planted with temperate-climate species introduced by the Royal Project Foundation: azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, and roses that bloom in the cool season. The interiors hold relics and murals depicting Buddhist cosmology, and the terraces command views across the forested ridges toward Myanmar, 60 kilometres west. The summit itself is marked by a brass benchmark, a radar dome operated by the Thai Meteorological Department, and interpretive panels explaining the park's role as the headwater source for four major river basins. Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail, a 3.2-kilometre boardwalk loop at 2,200 metres elevation, traverses sphagnum bog, dwarf bamboo meadows, and stands of Castanopsis and Lithocarpus oak draped in epiphytic ferns and orchids. The trail is open October through May — closed during the monsoon to protect nesting habitat for species including the white-browed shortwing and the chestnut-backed scimitar babbler. Morning walkers often encounter silver pheasants foraging in the understory, and the ridge sections offer unobstructed views of the agricultural valleys where Karen villagers cultivate arabica coffee and winter vegetables under Royal Project cooperative agreements. The trail was designed in 1997 with minimal grading to reduce erosion, and local guides — required for all visitors — provide interpretation in Thai and English. The park's microclimate supports lichen communities found nowhere else in mainland Southeast Asia, and the Research Station at kilometre 31 monitors phenology and climate data that inform conservation policy across the northern forest complex.