Thinking of taking a road trip to Phetchabun this weekend and would like to visit Phu Tub Berk Mountain, however the only car they have left at my local car hire place is a 1.2L Nissian March. I know this engine isn't the best at getting up steep hills as last year In koh samui a friends 1.2L Almera could net get all the way up some very steep roads in the jungle interior and had to give up.

Any one know how steep the roads are up to Phu Tub Berk Mountain, would it make it?

Thanks,

I have a Honda City 1.6  automatic and it struggled on some of the hills.  I was using the lower gears a lot.

You are alone in the car and no heavy unnecessary load?

Manual gear?

 

I just a had a virtual drive on Street View.

I see all kind of cars, small and big, pickups, small motorbikes.

I looked at the serpentine stretches.

The road condition is good, proper tarmac, many guard railings.

No comparison with Samui dirt roads or so.

Steep?

Well I am confident that in 2nd gear you will make even the steepest I have seen.

I was in Phuket driving along the westcoast and some (short) stretches are steeper than what I see here.

Don't make the mistake to torture it up in too high gear, low rev (as my fellow Thai people would do ).

To me it looks "hilly" at best.

 

Disclaimer: I am Swiss and made most of the alpine passes in Switzerland.

Some of them back and forth between breakfast and lunch

 

Very nice area!

I should get off the chair and visit it!

Only 160 km.

steepest road i have driven is up to Doi Mae salong.

roads in phuket are flat compared to this one

Honda civic go everywhere LOL

Not steep enough to be of concern with anyone who possesses basic driving skills. Some of the bends are quite tight.

If you want to enjoy, try it on a motorcycle. Awesome challenge.

Steep enough that in a 1.5 litre Vios I was in first gear and had to switch off the aircon.

Can anyone compare it to doi suthep or doi inthanon? My eco car had no problem with either of those so if they're similar in difficulty, the OP would be fine.

25 minutes ago, alien365 said:

Can anyone compare it to doi suthep or doi inthanon? My eco car had no problem with either of those so if they're similar in difficulty, the OP would be fine.

Probably a bit steeper in parts to Doi Suthep. We have a manual Avanza and with 4 people in no problems but down to 1st gear on a lot of the bends.

Have been there several times ... once using a Ford Fiesta Ecoboost ... 999cc ...You can always stop at the view points on the way up ... and give the engine a rest.

 

TBH you should stay overnight and see the mist in the early morning at the top View Point. Accommodation is a little basic though!!!!

 

I can recommend D11 Hotel in Phetchabun  ...Also suggest 'Coffee on the Hill By Story Book' after you eat at  Steak Khao Kor

 

And if you stay in Nakhon Sawan Hotel 42C The Chic

 

I rented Corolla in the end, however a March would easily have made it.

Although the roads are twisty, tight and steep, they are not as steep as the road we encountered in Samui.

Pechchabun is lovely place, amazing views and fresh cool air. It was 17c at the top of Phu Tub Berk in the morning.  Imagine it's jam packed in High season, a lot of places were closed when we went, but a lot of the time we had the roads to ourselves being rainy season, however it only rained about 30% of the time there.

A great place to travel too.

And I am relieved that my assessment was OK.

Avoid weekends and big Thai holidays, it becomes a car park.

 

 

These are 3 of the steepest paved roads in Thailand. There are even steeper in Koh Lanta, Koh Phangan and few other places but quite short distances.

 

Route 4009 Mae Hong Son

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 6/12/2018 at 12:30 PM, JaiLai said:

Avoid weekends and big Thai holidays, it becomes a car park.

 

 

We went over the long weekend of Visakha Bucha Holidayand there was hardly anyone there, imagine it was because its rainy season.  But yeh I've seen photos from the cool season and sounds a like a nightmare with the police controlling traffic on the roads.

So I was really happy we had many roads and places to ourselves, and it only rained about 30% of the time.