Skip the songthaew queue — the forest trail to the temple is the best ninety minutes in Chiang Mai.
Almost everyone reaches Wat Phra That Doi Suthep the same way: a red songthaew grinding up the mountain road, thirty people deep in the queue at the bottom. There is a second way in, and it starts behind Chiang Mai University in a patch of forest most visitors never see.
What the Monk's Trail is
The trail is an old walking route up the mountain, marked in places by strips of orange monastic cloth tied around trees. It climbs steadily through dry evergreen forest to Wat Pha Lat, a small temple built into a stream gully partway up, and continues from there toward the summit temple.
It is a real path, not a paved walkway — roots, loose rock, and one or two sections where you use your hands. Anyone reasonably fit can do it. Nobody in flip-flops should try.
The two stages
The first stage runs from the trailhead to Wat Pha Lat and takes most people about forty-five minutes. This is the part worth doing even if you go no further. Wat Pha Lat is quiet, mossy, built around a waterfall, and almost empty in the morning — the opposite of the summit temple in every way.
The second stage continues from Wat Pha Lat up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and takes roughly another hour, crossing the road once. It is steeper and less interesting than the first part, and plenty of people take a songthaew from Wat Pha Lat instead.
What you arrive at
The summit temple is reached by a naga staircase of just over 300 steps, or a funicular for a small fee. The golden chedi at the top is the reason people come; the terrace behind it looks out over the whole Chiang Mai plain, which on a clear morning is worth the climb by itself.
Foreign visitors pay a small entry fee at the temple. Dress for it: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off before entering the inner terrace.
Going up properly
Start early — seven or eight. The forest is cooler, the light through the canopy is better, and you avoid climbing in full sun.
Carry water; there is nothing to buy on the trail itself. Wear shoes with grip, especially in the wet season when the rock gets slippery and leeches appear on the damp sections.
Getting back down is easy: songthaews wait at the summit and run to the city all day, and paying to ride down after walking up is not cheating.
