DOI INTHANON NATIONAL PARK

Prince Inthawitchayanon, the last ruler of Chiang Mai, realized the importance of the forests around the mountain and ordered that some of his remains be buried there.  The mountain was then known as Doi Luang, Royal Mountain or Doi Ang Ka, Doi meaning mountain; Ang a tub, and Ka crows, after a tub-shaped pond located 300 meters west of the peak where crows flocked.  When he died in 1897 his ashes were placed in a stupa at the summit, which remains a pilgrimage site attracting thousands each year.  The mountain carries his name in a shortened version.

The mountain and surroundings, totaling 272 square kilometers, were declared the country’s sixth national park in 1972.

Six years later, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit visited and recommended the park boundaries be extended to extended to encompass more watershed area.  The king has been a prime mover in the protection of northern Thailand’s vital water sources.  Action was taken and the park now extends over 482 square kilometers.

Many Thais aspire to stand atop Doi Inthanon once in their lifetime, much like Japanese hope to ascend Mount Fuji or Americans peer into the Grand Canyon.  Earlier it meant a trek by foot or pony.  But in the 1970’s the Royal Thai Army build a 47 kilometer tarmac road to the summit, allowing easy access for the general public.  The road sparked protests by conservationists who predicted it would irrevocably change the character of the mountain.  Indeed it has, but other forces have also been at work.

Doi Inthanon was once under full forest cover.  The first major intruders were Karen tribesmen who arrived more than two centuries ago and settled in the lower altitudes to pursue subsistence rice farming.  The Hmong, traditionally inhabitants of higher elevations, came during the last decade of the 19^th century to be followed by others of their tribe.  Today there are about 4,000 of both tribes living within the park boundary in several villages.

At Doi Inthanon the most severe forest destruction has been wrought at altitudes between 800 and 1,500 meters but deforestation by lowlanders has also occurred around the base of the mountain.  A number of government development agencies have stations within the park.

To regulate this varied and intensive human interaction with the mountain, Doi Inthanon became one of the first national parks for which a comprehensive management plan was drawn up.  There has been some reforestation with native pines by the Royal Forestry Department and other attempts at regenerating the park.

Projects initiated by His Majesty the King have tried to stop the slash-and-burn practices, and rather than opium, the hilltribes grow vegetables, flowers and fruits like lychees, pears and peaches.

HABITAT:  Doi Inthanon is a granitic massif rising to 2,565 meters.  It is part of the Thanon Thongchai Range, a southern extension of the Shan Hills of Myanmar.  Sandy loams are the predominant soils on the mountain.

The area of Doi Inthanon is regarded as a vital watershed.  Cascading down the forested slopes are four major tributaries of the Ping River, tapped for irrigation, hydro-electric power, transport and tourism, in turn forms one of the four major tributaries of the Chao Phraya River.

The park provides a wonderful spectrum of vegetation.  As one ascends, the deciduous forests on the lower slope shade into seasonal broad-leaved evergreen, submontane evergreen and montane evergreen forests.  Native pines are found at moderate elevations; wild flowers abound including a large number of orchid species.

Above 1,800 meters, in the montane evergreen forest, the atmosphere becomes more temperature, with mists sweeping through low trees laden with orchids and moss.  The forest around the peak is the only one in Thailand, which resembles a true upper montane formation, Doi Inthanon rising about 300 meters above any other mountain in the country.  A small sphagnum bog at the summit is a paradise for bird watchers and one of the park’s highlights.

Doi Inthanon experiences a strongly monsoonal climate.  Although precise readings have not been recorded, about 2,000 millimeters of rain a year falls on the upper slopes, most of it between May through October.

The mean annual average temperature in the Chiang Mai lowlands is 25.8^oC, but that on the mountain is substantially lower.  The coldest months are December and January when ground frost may cover the exposed ridges near the summit where a low of –8^oC has been recorded.  Nights are cool even in the hottest months.  In the cold season, visitors should bring sweaters, parkas and other warm clothing.

WILDLIFE:  Reported so far in the park as a whole have been about 383 bird species, of which more than a quarter are winter visitors or passage migrants.  The largest number of species has been seen in the tall montane evergreen forest between 1,500 and 2,000 meters.  Soaring above are birds of prey, including the Black Eagle and Mountain Hawk Eagle.  Some species of pigeons are galliformes are fairly common.

Each of the mountain’s vegetation zones is home to a remarkable number of species, but the greatest rewards for the bird watcher come at the summit and the bog, where the tameness of the birds allows for close approach.

In the upper reaches one encounters the Chestnut-tailed Minla and White-browed Shortwing, which are found on only a handful of other peaks in Thailand, and the Ashy-throated Warbler.  One of two races of the Green-tailed Sunbird endemic to Thailand is restricted to the summit of Doi Inthanon.

Tiger, clouded leopard, sambar deer, elephant and other large mammals once roamed Doi Inthanon but most are now locally extinct or reduced to the most meagre numbers through hunting and habitat loss.  At least 65 mammal species, of which nearly one half are bats, are known, but many more small mammals may be expected with improved research.

From:  “National Parks of Thailand”