Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park

Doi Pha Hom Pok tops out at 2,285 metres, making it Thailand’s second-highest peak after Doi Inthanon (2,565 m). It sits inside the national park of the same name, straddling the Fang district of Chiang Mai near the Myanmar border, and unlike its taller rival it has no summit road — getting to the top means walking.

The trailhead starts at Kiew Lom campground, reached by park vehicle road at roughly 1,920 m. From there a marked path climbs about 400 m over 3.1 km to the summit — a 6.2 km round trip that takes most hikers 1.5-2 hours up and a little over an hour back down. There’s no water source on the trail, so carry what you need. Most visitors camp overnight at Kiew Lom (the highest official campsite in Thailand) and start the final push before dawn, aiming to reach the granite summit plateau for sunrise; a park ranger typically leads pre-dawn groups since the trail is genuinely dark. The summit itself is open, windswept, and cold most of the year — no overnight camping is permitted up there, so the sunrise hike is a there-and-back trip from Kiew Lom rather than a summit stay.

The park’s forest supports a documented mix of rare orchids and montane birdlife, including migratory species that arrive each winter — birders come specifically for species like the purple cochoa and chestnut thrush. Below the summit trail, Fang Hot Springs and other geothermal pools sit within the wider park area, and several waterfalls (including Pong Nam Dung and Tard Luang) give an easier day-trip option for anyone not attempting the summit hike.

Watch out: the summit trek is genuinely a hike, not a stroll from a car park — bring proper footwear, a headlamp if you’re doing the dawn ascent, and warm layers, since temperatures at Kiew Lom and the summit sit well below what’s comfortable lower down in Fang.

Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park sits within Fang district, Chiang Mai province, near Fang Hot Springs for a lower-effort visit to the same area.