Doi Inthanon National Park is a popular destination for day tours from Chiang Mai. If you are an advanced cyclist and would like to ride your bike to the summit, here are some points to consider.
The following question about cycling to the top of Doi Inthanon was received by email.
Can we cycle to the top of Doi Inthanon?
My husband and I are visiting Chiang Mai in late November. He is an experienced cyclist and plans on cycling up Doi Inthanon.
If we book a private tour, may we put a bicycle in the back of your SUV / van / car? Do the seats in the back fold down for us to do this?
Is it possible to pick up from our hotel in the city center at 6:00AM? We would ideally be done by 3PM. I know on your website you had mentioned your business hours were 8AM-6PM, but we want to get there early to avoid the heat.
Once we drop him off at the start of his bike ride, I personally plan on exploring around Doi Inthanon. Will the rental SUV / van be able to accommodate this for me?
Answer
Yes, we can arrange this for you. A 6am start is ok, and we can use an SUV. The 3rd row of seats fold down and we can fit the bike (especially if front wheel is removed). I phoned the national park and they said there are no additional charges for cyclists.
You can find details of our standard Doi Inthanon itinerary here, but you may want to remove some of the options to manage time.
If you want to bring your own lunch (e.g. high-energy cyclist food), we can reduce the package price. Likewise, if you will not be trekking then we can remove the cost of the local guide. The trek is the highlight for most people, but we can drive to the Karen Village instead if you do not have the time or if your husbands legs are too sore.
I expect you will want to meet your husband at the top with water etc? We can visit Wachirathan waterfall and also there is Hmong market where they sell local produce and dried fruit that we can see on the way up the mountain.