Road to Doi Ang Khang?

[pgrahmm]

Sorry for the questions tonight...just found out we're likely going to Doi Ang Khang near Fang (since our visitors have taken reservations there).....never been.....

How good/bad is the drive? How would it compare with the drive to Pai?

Mountain driving is not a problem for me (but the wife can get car sick) - lived in the Sierras (USA) through all seasons ...... but the Sierras don't have "Thai" roads......

Any info would be helpful......

[cloudhopper]

IIRC the drive from Fang is fairly easy. The other way via Wieng Heng is similar to the drive to Pai, but perhaps through a more beautiful forest.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

The road is extremely steep, and many cars blow their engines trying to get up.

They even run a recovery service for broken cars, vans and busses.

[villagefarang]

It has been nearly a year since last there but other than being quite steep in places there were no issues with the roads. It is a beautiful and interesting place to visit. Make sure you take in the other sites and villages as long as you are there. You might prepare a couple extra barf-bags just to be safe.

There was some morning fog when we were there which limited visibility on the way down but no problem if you take it slow. The Fortuner had no problems with the climb but I can imagine an older car or a smaller engine could struggle if overloaded.

[quidnunc]

I just did the drive in August and I took 1 route there and 1 route back. The 2nd route was a lot easier on my car and my nerves. The first route for some reason is the only route suggested by Google Maps.. Nearly burned out my transmission.

I found the 2nd rate by doing a search on the internet and found it recommended in some forum.

The second route is basically to follow rte 107 until you get to route 1178 in the vicinity of chiang dao.. Follow route 1178 until you intersect with route 1340 and take a right.. Follow 1340 until you intersect with route 1248. Take a left and follow 1248 into Doi Angkang.

You might want to put some effort into finding where the last gas (petrol) station is. There weren't any that I could find in Doi Angkhan. And not for a long long way on the 2nd route. Maybe not till you get back to 107.

If you are short of gas it might be best to go back via the first route. I don't think it will be as hard on the car going back to Chiang Mai since there will be more descending and less ascending. But I wouldn't swear to it.

[iainiain101]

It's a wonderful place to visit especially at this time of year. Both routes are easy enough for a car in reasonable condition.

Just take some warm clothing for the nights, and if staying at the Resort watch out for the slippery bathroom floor tiles.

[Iamemjay]

I live near there and have been up there many times. As long as your vehicle is not underpowered and you take it easy, especially in the first gear sections (Yes, first gear!) you'll be fine.

An option for nervous passengers is to stop at the wat at the turnoff from the 107 and take a white songtaew up the hill - negotiate a whole-trip price. Most Thais do this rather than attempt to drive themselves.

[T_Dog]

We always take HWY-1340 from Arunothai as there is hardly any traffic compared to the road to Fang and much more scenic as well. Here is a thread on it from a few years ago.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/603058-hwy-1340-to-doi-angkhang/

[pgrahmm]

Thanks everyone for the help.....we went up the 1178 way - stopped once to let the car cool a bit....came down on the Fang side and that road is a car killer - must have been Izuzu pick up day as they were scattered up and down the road - very steep.....

The gardens were nice & our company knew one of the head botanists there so we got the tour.....

The real highlight was we stumble onto a village festival restocking of the local temple larders - 26 large money trees and hilltribes in full gear.....NIkon sent some team photographers to cover so it was very colorful.....

[huli]

The road on the Fang side gave me a major scare when decending on my Honda PCX with my wife on the back. The automatic transmission was not sufficient to slow the vehicle, my wife and I are bigish as well, making me rely on the brakes too much. They overheated and suddenly there were NO brakes. Actually, I had pulled over out of fear for the bike which was smelling from the brake heat, and when I got stopped, both brakes went totally limp apparently having boiled the brake fluid. After waiting a while the brakes came back and someone nice gave my wife the rest of the ride down. After that nightmare, I took the turn to Chiang Dao and almost ran out of gas.

I think most bikes with a standard transmission are OK. That road is unbelieveable switchbacks and steep.

[tommyuk77]

how about nissan almera auto transmission ,any problem to drive to doi ankhang?

ever been pai,doi inthanon and phuhin rongkla without any problem