The serpent stairs
About 300 steps between mosaic serpents.
ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เทวประภาส มากคล้าย — CC BY 3.0 · กสิณธร ราชโอรส — CC BY-SA 4.0 · กสิณธร ราชโอรส — CC BY-SA 4.0 · กสิณธร ราชโอรส — CC BY-SA 4.0
Chiang Mai's best-known symbol: a temple on Doi Suthep mountain more than a thousand metres up, overlooking the whole city from the west. It dates from the fourteenth century, and local legend says a white elephant carried a Buddhist relic up the mountain until it stopped here, and the temple was built on the spot. Visitors climb a famous stairway of some three hundred steps guarded by two mythical serpents of colourful mosaic, or take a small lift. At the top is a gleaming golden stupa ringed by bells and gilded parasols, and its terrace gives a wide view over Chiang Mai on clear days. The lower courtyard and the stairs are free; foreigners pay a token fee of about thirty to fifty baht for the upper terrace with the golden stupa, and the temple lies inside Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Modest dress is required, with cover-ups lent at the entrance. Come early in the morning before the crowds and mist, or just before sunset for the view. The road is a winding mountain one, so a shared red songthaew from town or a tour is easiest, and you can add the nearby Bhubing Palace and hill village.
About 300 steps between mosaic serpents.
Gleaming, ringed by bells.
All of Chiang Mai from the mountain.
Doi Suthep mountain, about 15 km west of the old city
No, there is a small lift for a token fee beside the stairs. But the stairway with its colourful serpents is part of the experience, and it is gradual and climbed in minutes.