Khao Khitchakut Pilgrimage

Khao Khitchakut opens for pilgrimage for roughly two months each year, from around the beginning of February in the lunar calendar until the end of the season in March, and in that window several hundred thousand people climb it. The destination is Phra Bat Phlu Thong, a rock at around a thousand metres bearing a mark venerated as a Buddha footprint, alongside a series of other sacred rocks and shrines along the route. The climb is done overnight: pilgrims take pickup trucks up a rough steep track from the base in the dark, then walk several kilometres of stone and root path, arriving at the summit around dawn. The trucks are packed, the track is severe, and the walking sections are steep with crowds moving in both directions. It is a religious observance and the crowds are enormous; queues for the trucks can run for hours at the peak of the season.

What you actually see

• The footprint rock - Phra Bat Phlu Thong at around a thousand metres.
• The night climb - pickup transfer in the dark, then several kilometres on foot.
• The shrines - sacred rocks and offerings along the route to the summit.
• The crowds - several hundred thousand pilgrims over a two-month season.

When to go

Late January or February to late March, which is the only time the mountain is open. Go on a weekday - weekends at the peak of the season mean queues of hours for the trucks.

Honest expectations

Closed outside the two-month season. The pickup track is severe and the trucks are packed. Several kilometres of steep walking on stone and roots in the dark. Enormous crowds. It is a pilgrimage, not a hike, and behaviour is expected to match.

Nearby

Chanthaburi town is south-west; Namtok Phlio is south.