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Covering a huge area to the southwest of Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon National Park (B20 per person, plus B10-30 per vehicle), with its hilltribe villages, dramatic waterfalls and fine panoramas, is a popular destination for naturalists and hikers. The park supports about 380 bird species and, near the summit, the only red rhododendrons in Thailand (in bloom Dec-Feb). Night-time temperatures can drop below freezing, so bring warm clothing. Both the visitor centre, 9km up the main road from Mae Chaem , and the park headquarters, a further 22km on, sell detailed park maps. Three sets of waterfalls provide the main roadside attractions on the way to the park headquarters: overrated and overcrowded Mae Klang Falls , 8km in; Vachiratharn Falls , a long misty drop 11km beyond; and the twin cascades of Siriphum Falls , behind the park headquarters. The more beautiful Mae Ya , believed to be the highest in Thailand, is accessed by a paved fourteen-kilometre track that heads west off the main park road 2km north of Highway 108. For the most spectacular views in the park, head for the twin chedis on the summit road. Near the chedis, a signpost opposite the helipad marks the trailhead of Gew Mae Pan Trail, an easy two-hour circular walk through forest and savannah around the steep, western edge of Doi Inthanon. Doi Inthanon's summit (2565m), 6km beyond the chedi, is a disappointment. The paved Mae Chaem road skirts yet more waterfalls, 7km after the turnoff: look for a steep, unpaved road to the right, leading down to a ranger station and, just to the east, the dramatic long drop of Huai Sai Luaeng Falls . A circular two-hour trail from the ranger station takes in small waterfalls as well as Mae Pan Falls .
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