MangoVine - The Beautiful Wat Phra That Doi Suthep for Views Over Chiangmai

15 December, 2009
Tuesday Doi Suthep is a mountain to the west of town and seemed to be one of the main attractions for tourists as well as locals to visit. A pilgrimage up to the top was recommended by both our hotel and our guide book, as if it wasn't obvious enough by the name plastered on most of Chiangmai's bus taxis, the songthaews.

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Up on Doi Suthep, there are views across Chiangmai on one side, but the beautiful Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is the main draw for most visitors. It's the north's most holiest shrine.

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The cheapest way to get to Doi Suthep was to get into a songthaew outside Chiangmai Zoo rather than by a direct trip straight from town. I've outline how we were advised to do it in my previous post about Songthaews.

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Once there, we took several flights of steps past lots of stalls, to get up to to the Wat.

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At the top, just before the final flight of steps, I was stopped by a guard at that white sign above with the red arrow. He asked me something in Thai and since I could only reply in English, he told me to buy a ticket in a booth on the right. Linh had previously walked straight up, but my camera obviously gave me away since visiting tourists had to pay. It wasn't very much though.

Once up, visitors could walk around the lower terrace area to see the views across Chiangmai and have a close look at the buildings and architecture there.

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