Dear Cindee, I have not been to Doi Pha but the Phu Chi Fa sunrise was stunning. Actually, you can also catch the sunset on the same location. It has 360 degrees view of the entire horizon. And you can be in two countries at the same time. Left foot in Laos and Right foot in Thailand. Or vice versa. The sea of clouds in the valleys surround the entire peak makes the sunrise even better ... be there early and be prepared to stay one or two hours. To better appreciate the changing hues of the skies, clouds, shadows and the hills. Enjoy!

It depends what you really want to do or see. Phu Chi Fa means Hill Pointing to Sky inThai, we went to Chiangmai +Chiangrai for 10 days early this year. Just so many things to see. Phu Chi Fa will consume some time because you need to get up quite early and go up the hill with flashlight before sun rises You won’t see much on partly cloudy days. We spent one night at hotel nearby to save time My advice would be if you are nature lovers and have not seen much of mountain tops, this may be for you, otherwise, you should spend more time for something else 3-nights to cover both tourist cities is not manageable, so, skip Phu Chi Fa I am a Thai living in LA and I have visited these cities few times before Ben

There is van/truck transport till the last bit of walking trail. Uneven ground, not too steep. At comfortable pace, 20 min walk. If he is comfortable walking 2-3 km on flat surface, he should be able to manage the trail. The trail is not paved though.

I was there in mid October and I can tell you It wasn’t 20 degree at all. Being in T-shirt was not comfortable, just bring a sweater or light jacket and you should be good!

Hi Ivy, Yes well its the humid hot time of year for PCF as we call it,,,However dont forget its much cooler in the mountains so a welcome change from the hot plains of Chiang Rai and the border crossings so you can look at it that way.. As for the view-yes it may or may not rain but just remember it will almost certainly be cloudy so perhaps clouds coming and going and not behaving as the sea of clouds like it does in winter between October and March. Thats all because of the higher humidity forcing the clouds higher and maintaining that way day and night. In winter night is clear with the gradual appearance of humid clouds way down below from the Mekong River creating that affect. Thats not to say you wont get any view but just be prepared in any case PCF is a nice area in any case and the town is a pretty one and very friendly.. Enjoy it