Chiang Mai: Doi Suthep & Monk's Trail Hike with Songthaew

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/35

Duration4h

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Riding a Songthaew Up Doi Suthep to Two Temples Most Tourists Miss

You hike the historic Monk's Trail through forest to the peaceful, moss-covered Wat Pha Lat, then ride the songthaew up to the gold temple at Doi Suthep with views over the city. The tour includes your guide, water, and transport in an open-sided pickup truck — the way locals travel. You pay temple entrance fees in cash on the day (THB 150 total for both temples).

Step-by-step itinerary

Hike to Wat Pha Lat and visit Doi Suthep

Travel by songthaew to hike start
Hike Monk’s Trail to Wat Pha Lat
Explore Wat Pha Lat temple grounds
Visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple
Enjoy panoramic city views
Return to hotel

The Experience

You climb into the back of a songthaew — a converted pickup truck with two wooden benches and open sides — and the driver winds up the mountain road toward Doi Suthep. No air-conditioning, no doors, just the sound of the engine and the slope getting steeper. This is how locals move around Chiang Mai, and the moment you're in one, you stop being a tourist watching Thailand and start being part of how the city actually works. The songthaew drops you at the trailhead for the Monk's Trail, a forest path that Buddhist monks have walked for centuries between the temples and the city below.

The hike to Wat Pha Lat takes about 30 to 45 minutes through jungle thick enough that you lose sight of the city almost immediately. The path is uneven in places, a bit steep, and after rain it gets slippery — nothing dangerous if you're wearing proper walking shoes, but it's real hiking, not a stroll. Wat Pha Lat itself sits hidden in that forest, built in 1355, and it feels like you've stumbled onto something that wasn't meant for crowds. Moss covers the old stone staircases. Buddha statues sit half-buried in vegetation. A stream runs through the temple grounds with small stone bridges, and the whole place has this quiet, almost forgotten quality that the bigger temples in town don't have anymore. You spend time here, not rushing through.

After the hike, the songthaew brings you up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the gold-draped temple that sits 1,053 meters above the city. You can walk the dragon staircase — more than 300 steps with a seven-headed serpent carved along the railings — or take the cable car if your legs need a break. The temple itself is packed with pilgrims and visitors, but the view from the top reaches across Chiang Mai and the Ping valley beyond, and on a clear day it's the kind of view that makes the climb worth it. Your guide walks you through the sacred chedi, explains the Buddha paintings on the walls, points out the shrines and bells. Then the songthaew takes you back down to your hotel.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off inside the old city (or meeting point at Tha Pae Gate), transport in the songthaew, an English-speaking guide, and a bottle of drinking water. Temple entrance fees are paid separately in cash on the day of the tour.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by WanderSiam

Is this one for you?Right for travelers who want to see the temples most visitors skip and don't mind an open-sided truck and a real forest hike — the songthaew and the Monk's Trail are what make this different from the standard temple tour.