Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Pai are the names that usually comes up to our mind when talking about the North Thailand. Well, it's obvious since these places are very well known among the tourists. In this blog, it's going to be a bit different. We are still heading to the north of Thailand in a mountain called "Phu Tub Berk".
Phu Tub Berk is located in Phetchabun province and with the highest elevation of 1768 meters, this mountain offers the highest peak in Phetchabun mountain range. It's 425 kilometers away from Bangkok and usually takes about 5 hours and 30 minutes to get there. The main attraction of Phu Tub Berk is the peak of the mountain and its surrounding. People would go there and camp all year round. Other than camping and beautiful resorts, it has some really nice temples, windmill and farms to explore too.
We drove all the way to Phu Tub Berk and we started our journey at around 5 am. Since, it was high season for Phu Tub Berk at the time of our journey, we intended to reach there before noon so that there is a high possibility for room availability. If you're going there during high season, I recommend you to get there as early as possible if you haven't got yourself a room/tent booked already. There is not much of room options on Booking.com or Agoda, so a great way to discover resorts/campgrounds would be through google map. Search for Phu Tub Berk and from there you will see plenty of resorts on the map with their contact. You can directly call them to book a room/tent (require deposit payment).
So, after being on the road for about 7 hours, we made it to Phu Tub Berk. On the way up to the peak, prepare yourself for some awesome mountain curves and at some point, the way up can be pretty steep as well. But it's nothing very advanced, with basic driving skill you could easily make it to the top of the mountain.
A quick checkup on your vehicle before the trip is recommended. Also be sure to use low gear while riding uphill.
Around 1 pm, we made it to a resort where they had empty grounds available for setting our tent. We paid 120 baht per person for renting their space. If you don’t bring a tent of your own, they offer a package of 600 baht for tent rental which includes a BBQ meal for one people.
The local Phetchabun people are "Mhong" hill tribe. They moved from the more northern part of Thai mountain almost about a hundred year ago.
Weather in Phu Tub Berk is quite chilled all year round. But it is more popular during the mid-rainy-winter season due to higher visibility of clouds along the hills. If you’re lucky you will be able to witness that Thais call “Thalee Mouk” which means ”Sea of Cloud”.
This cold weather in Phu Tub Berk makes this place really suitable for growing fruits and vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, strawberries etc.
We ended the day with a visit to a cabbage farm right next to our campsite before the sunset. The farm was only a minute away on foot from our tent. The fresh cabbages in the farm reminds me of stir fried cabbage I had during lunch earlier that day, it was so amazing to see the same cabbage growing in the farm. The color of the green farm with contrast of the sunset was amazing mind blowing.
Transportation:
Private car/motorbike: It will take about 5 hours 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on how often you're stopping on your way there. Simply put "Phu Tub Berk" on your google map and follow the route.
Public Bus: Take a bus that goes to Phetchabun city from Mo Chit Bus Terminal. This will cost you around 250-380 baht/person. Bus leaves every two hour. Once you reach Phetchabun city, hire a taxi/pickup truck to the top of Phu Tub Berk. A round way trip should cost you around 1,500 baht per vehicle (suitable for 1 day trip) but if you plan to come back a day or two days later, it will cost you around 2,000 baht for a round trip. You can schedule your drive back to Phetchabun city with the driver.
Important link for bus info: click here.
Phu Tub Berk attractions:
Scenic Phu Tub Berk - Highest point of mountain,
Wat Pa Phu Thap Boek - Temple,
Wat Phra That Pha Son Kaeo - Temple,
Watch the video to find out more of my Phetchabun road trip adventure.