Doi Suthep A jaunt up DOI SUTHEP, the mountain which rises steeply at the city's western edge, is the most satisfying brief trip you can make from Chiang Mai, chiefly on account of beautiful Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which dominates the hillside and gives a towering view over the goings-on in town. This is the north's holiest shrine, its pre-eminence deriving from a magic relic enshrined in its chedi and the miraculous legend of its founding. The original chedi here was built by King Ku Na at the end of the fourteenth century, after the glowing relic of Wat Suan Dork had self-multiplied just before being enshrined. A place had to be found for the clone, so Ku Na put it in a travelling shrine on the back of a white elephant and waited to see where the sacred animal would lead: it eventually climbed Doi Suthep, trumpeted three times, turned round three times, knelt down and died, thereby indicating that this was the spot. Ever since, it's been northern Thailand's most important place of pilgrimage, especially for the candlelit processions on Maha Puja, the anniversary of the sermon to the disciples, and Visakha Puja, the anniversary of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death.
Frequent songthaews leave from Thanon Huai Kaeo in front of Chiang Mai University for the sixteen-kilometre trip up to Wat Phra That (B50 to the wat, B100 return, B200 return to include Phuping Palace and Doi Pui village). The road, although steep in places, is paved and well suited for motorbikes. At the end of Thanon Huai Kaeo, a statue of Khruba Srivijaya, the monk who organized the gargantuan effort to build the road from here to the wat, points the way to the temple. Part of the plans for the city's future development include expanding the site around the statue into a leisure park and building a new road to loop around the park.
A signpost halfway up is about the only indication that Doi Suthep is a national park (B200), though an entry fee is not levied if you are only visiting the wat, Phuping Palace and Doi Pui village. Despite the nearness of the city, its rich mixed forests support 330 species of birds, and the area is a favoured site for nature study, second in the north only to the larger and less disturbed Doi Inthanon National Park. On the higher slopes near park headquarters, about 1km beyond the wat (  053 210244), there are national park bungalows (from B400 for two persons).
About 5km from the statue of Khruba Srivijaya, a road on the right leads 3km to Mon Tha Than Falls, a beautiful spot, believed by some to be home to evil spirits. Camping is possible beside the pretty lower cascade, where refreshment stalls are open during the day. The higher fall is an idyllic five-metre drop into a small bathing pool, completely overhung by thick, humming jungle.
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Khruba Srivijaya, the most revered monk in northern Thailand, was born in 1877 in a small village 100km south of Chiang Mai. His birth coincided with a supernatural thunderstorm and earthquake, after which he was named In Fuan, "Great Jolt", until he joined the monkhood. A generous and tireless campaigner, he breathed life into Buddhist worship in the north by renovating over a hundred religious sites, including Wat Phra That Haripunjaya in Lamphun and Wat Phra That Doi Tung near Mae Sai. His greatest work, however, was the construction in 1935 of the paved road up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which beforehand could only be reached after a climb of at least five hours. The road was constructed entirely by the voluntary labour of people from all over the north, using the most primitive tools. The project gained such fame that it attracted donations of B20 million, and on any one day as many as four thousand people were working on it. So that people didn't get in each other's way, Khruba Srivijaya declared that each village should contribute 15m of road, but as more volunteers flocked to Chiang Mai, this figure had to be reduced to 3m. The road was completed after just six months, and Khruba Srivijaya took the first ride to the temple in a donated car.
When Khruba Srivijaya died in 1938, Rama VIII was so moved that he sponsored a royal cremation ceremony, held in 1946 (a long wait until the auspicious day for a cremation signifies high respect for the deceased). The monk's relics were divided up and are now enshrined at Wat Suan Dork in Chiang Mai, Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao in Lampang and at many other holy places throughout the north.
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