Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat (Wat Phra Phutthabat Sutthawat)

Absolutely stunning and totally worth the price!!! Super friendly staff!
Unfortunately ignorant white travellers are complaining about the price with no understanding of how many people it takes to build and maintain the site (in a national park with a boardwalk path/steps all the way up a mountain and a taxi/bus so you can get there, multiple cleaned bathrooms).
I fully support foreigners paying more, (most of us likely make the entry fee in 1 hour) and it ensures the site is affordable for minimum wage locals. You can see it as a small way to give back for all destruction that tourism has.

Incredibly unique temple on a mountain! The view is amazing. I’m not sure how to get here without a car. I just got a driver from Chiang Mai… was worth it

The place is worth the price of admission.
I arrived very early, I was the first, the only one there, there weren't even any workers there yet. You arrive at the foot, there's a large car park, even from here you can see where you need to go up, (see photo). Admission costs, full package 490 baht (see photo). I arrived at the opening of 7:30, and started climbing at about 8:20, so Thai leisurely life, they decided to have breakfast :)). First you climb the mountain in a jeep, the road should be steep with cliffs. But all will be well. The car will come to a bus stop and will be waiting for you. Then walking (it's better if you have good shoes) first along the road on one side of the mountain with another steep descent, the road is wide. Then up the stairs to the mountain, the stairs are good but the ascent is not small. There are a lot of beautiful places, such as a bridge, you can stop along the way, there are places to stay. Wild animals, I did not see, I saw birds and a couple of snakes. I was on my own at this time. When you get to the top, there is a temple, quite old, there are bells and a gong, you can knock. But the best part is at the top, climb up, you won't regret coming here, your long journey will pay off. All the luck 👍:)))

Burn your energy through about 800 meter climb up to the top to see the morning fog and view of man made pagoda. Recommend to visit early morning when you still fresh and prepare a bottle of water. Entrance/service fees including transportation 120baht/person

Need a special public transportation to get up here. The top needs a bit of a hike up. 850m of vertical steps.

The step was well constructed and in a very good condition.

The view up there totally worth the walk. It’s a good hike for the morning, you can see a very nice view of Lampang from the top there. The walk down was easy.

The ranger was super friendly and very helpful. It’s one of the best maintained park. Worth a visit.

$25 NZdoller to enter,
$30-25 one way to come from Lamphun.
$25 enter fee is including transportation from parking to top return way, was like 10min Rolla coster up down mountain way🤣,
Understandable expensive price for maintainance temple, was many effort to protect temple.
For me worth to pay, I love mountain and hike. Such a special experience to meditate on the top of the mountain.
Feeling wind energy and god, nature spirits.

One of the best temple experiences I've had in Thailand. Imagine a monastery in the sky, parts of the temple scattered on a mountain top, the strength of a mountain, the silence inviting you to respect the aura of the vicinity, the energy radiating from nature surrounding, and the Buddha's presence, his footstep, strongly felt.

I thoroughly enjoyed this visit. The quiet, meditating in the clouds, few other visitors, and nature all around, I really took my time exploring here. If you drove you park in a lot where you pay for entrance and for a songkaew to take you to the temple. There are many steps to ascend to the top so make sure you're prepared with footwear and hydration, sunscreen too. Please respect the silence, take off your shoes when asked, and enjoy the peace and sacredness of this stunning temple in the sky.

Must visit views are superb hard climb up stairs but worth it

Very nice experience, good walking tour and an excellent view. You must visit it

Very very beautiful little tired, it was worth it to get there. We took the train from Chiangmai to there for a 1 day trip and we hire a public car to the temple.

We took a bus back to Chiangmai because train ticket sold out!! (Sunday evening many people go back to Chiangmai)

It's a must visit place in Northern Thailand or even just in Thailand. Quite hard to get, but worth it 100%. Foreigner's ticket costs 280 baht and includes up and down trip from parking to the mountain with pagodas.

Located 2.5 hours from Chiang Mai. The roads are smooth and straight-forward. Once at the entrance at the bottom of the mountain, you'll need to buy a ticket for 280THB for an open shuttle to take you to a higher point where you will begin your ascend up 800 steep steps. There is a neat bridge and lots of lookouts. I'd say its moderate in effort, easy for anyone fit.

At the top you can explore basically 3-4 view spots beside each other. There is no actual path to the "white bells" so you will be viewing them from a distance. A bit of a shame that you're not allowed to climb to them. Most photos online are drone footages.

The views are indeed spectacular. We went in January and there were only a handful of other tourists.

Once you're back on at the shuttle point to go back down, check out the path behind the booth where the drivers hang. Its called "Buddah's footprint". It's not the real thing of course but it's just another spot with small temples to explore.

Another reviewer suggested a contact for a driver named Chiang. We reached out and found that he was extremely pushy, assuming plans were made without our agreement. When we didn't reply to him within the hour, he started harassing us with so many phone calls that we had to block him.

Our hotel connected us to Noom +66889214799 Whatsapp/Line - Very nice driver, descent English, courteous and prompt, comfortable car. Cost us 2,800THB + 540THB gas from Chiang may return trip.

Very beautiful monastery, me and my juniors came there for a gorgeous horizon with a sunshine, and it was amazing! The temple is wonderful looking a specially with morning sun :)
To get to the temple, there are about 800 steps leading to the entry of the temple. Highly recommended!

It's worth the trip out to see this pace. It's an easy climb to the tip with many resting places and a beautiful view all the way up. The view at the top is amazing.

An unforgettable experience. You will not regret and it is worth the effort. If you have a good fitness level it will be easy. The newly built stairs are the best we have seen in Thailand 🇹🇭 super safe and well built. I was a bit afraid as I have very bad knees but I made it 👍🏻and it was totally worth the pain.
How to get there: best is with own car or taxi / driver. You drive up to the large parking lot where you leave your own car. You need Covid vaccination proof. Entry for foreigners is THB 270 pp = 200 for National Park and 70 for drive up the mountain and back. Once you have your ticket you wait for next pickup. The drive up to the walking start was hazardous in our case, the driver went up the hill like a madman so that one guy nearly fell out, and two women fell from the benches. Even when we banged against the window of the driver cabin he did not stop or slow down. The way down we had a much better driver and it was rocky as usual but enjoyable.
The climb: 309 meter walk a bit uphill to the beginning of the stairs. In total 540 Meter or 700 to 800 steps up. You will find several resting places. At the bridge you have approx. 50 %. When you nearly reach the top the stairs split in 2 ways and there is a sign with an arrow to the left in Thai - but it goes nowhere. At the end there is a cave or maybe meditation place from a former monk - not sure. You have to climb all that back up I could have saved myself 100 steps. If you go to the right you reach the top directly with 700 steps. Of course here are some more to reach the two temples but by then you will have forgotten all efforts as it is so beautiful.

Must go if you’re in the area!:)
Park up, buy a ticket to get taken up the mountain with a truck and take the last 200-300 steps on stairs up onto the top of the mountain. The view is stunning and definitely worth the effort. No regrets!

Off-beaten path but stunning temple and great experience. Combine this with a trip to Mae Kompong and you will discover amazing nature and beautiful mountain roads. Make sure you have enough time to come back to your hotel before the sunset. It's a long drive.

long walk to the top, but worth it! very beautiful on the mountain and i think very nice view if you visit outside the smoke season, pollution is so bad right now, can see any view.

Very beautiful area, plenty of places to rest and take photos. Peaceful. Spent about 1.5 hour here in total with both the climb, sightseeing, and the small temple. Entry ticket was 490 baht (as of January 2024) which included the 90 baht truck ride up and down.

My foreigner friends and I rode there by our own scooter from ChiangMai. We just told the guard at the National park that we were just passing through and the guard said we didn’t have to pay the national park fee. At the temple, we parked at the ticket booth area. As a Thai national, I paid ฿90 (entrance + the ride up the mountain) and my friends paid ฿270 each. The (adventurous) ride took us to the spot where there’s a shop to take a seat and/or buy a drink. We walked in a bit and started to hike up the stairs. It was slightly bit slippery walking on the metal sheets but there’s railing all along the way and they are building a much nicer staircase, walkway, and viewpoint platforms now. I would love to go back again when that’s all built! The up at the top was absolutely amazing! My friends and I loved it and didn’t mind the duo pricing. We all thought it was well worth the work to get up there. PS. The “footprints of the Buddha is not that interesting, but it’s only 150m away from the parking of the ride so I would recommend to do the main hike first then decide if you still want to see that.