The drive on the highway from Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon was very smooth. Traffic was great for most parts and there were well-marked signs throughout the route.

The acceleration of the Toyota Yaris wasn’t the fastest, but the performance was way better than I had expected. While the Yaris was able to cruise on the highway without much problem, the lack of power from the engine started to show when we drove up the mountain. The car was able to drive up the steep inclines without me having to floor the pedal but it was moving at a very slow speed. All of the higher powered cars overtook us while we were navigating up the steep inclines.

While the Yaris is able to bring you up the mountain and back down, I would strongly recommend against trying to floor the pedal. Another Yaris overtook us at one point and it seems that the driver was flooring the pedal as the engine was roaring so loudly. It was only a few moments later when we overtook the same car which stopped by at the side of the road with smoke coming out of the hood.

We made our first stop at Mae Klang Waterfall. We bought our National Park entrance tickets (300 THB per pax) at the ticketing booth as the waterfall was located before the main park entrance.

We arrived at the entrance of the Chedis at around 5:30pm only to find out that they were already closed for the day. With a lack of any information on the operating hours, as well as numerous photos of the Chedis taken at sunset, I wasn’t expecting it to be closed.

Just a short drive up from the Chedis, there is a huge carpark on the right side of the road. The carpark also doubles as a vantage point for taking photos of the two purple Chedis.

Ironically, the peak is devoid of any views as the vegetation around the area is very thick. The viewing point offers a much better panoramic view of the surroundings.