Location: 16 km (10 mi) Northwest of Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province Map
Info: TAT, Chiang Mai
Tel. 0-5324-8604
Wat Doi Suthep
Open: 5:30am- 7:30pm daily
Palace Gardens
Open: 8:30am- 4pm Fri- Sun
Phuping Palace
Closed: to public
Doi Suthep or Doysuthep is situated in 16 km (10 mi) Northwest of Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province of Thailand. Height above sea level is 1601 meters above sea level. Geologically it is composed of granite. Doi Suthep is part of the Loilar Range. Together with the neighboring dope, Doipuy (1685 m) is part of the national park Doi Suthep-Doipuy. At the top of Doi Suthep, located 15 km from the center of Chiang Mai, in Wat Phrahat Doi Suthep was built in 1383. This place is sacred to many Thais. According to legend, it was here that the white elephant died.
The Doi Suthep belongs to the Daen Lao mountain range, which
stretches for 200 kilometers along the northern border of Thailand.
The mountains form the watershed between the Saluen and Mekong
systems. The water on the northern flank flows directly into the
saluen, while the water on the south flank flows partly to the
southwest, where the Mae Nam Pai breaks its way through the chain
and flows into the saluen, and partly into the system of the Mae Nam
Ping and ultimately in the Mae Nam Chao Phraya. The Daen Lao
mountain range begins at Chiang Saen in the east. The western end is
not clearly defined, geographers usually include the mountain range
of Thailand's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon. In addition to the Doi
Suthep with a height of 1676 meters, surveys such as the Doi Pui
(1685 meters height), the Doi Luang Chiang Dao (2175 meters height)
and the Doi Inthanon with 2567 meters height are part of this
mountain range.
On the eastern slopes of Doi Suthep is the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep,
a Buddhist temple complex (Wat), which is the symbol of Chiang Mai
and is located about 15 kilometers west of the city center.