Doi Inthanon stretching southwards from the Daen Lao Range. This range, the southwesternmost of the Shan Highland system, separates the Salween watershed from the Mekong watershed. Other high peaks of the Loi Lar Mountain Range are Doi Luang Chiang Dao (2,175 m), Doi Pui (1,685 m), and Doi Suthep (1,601 m). In 1954, the forests around Doi Inthanon were conserved, creating Doi Inthanon National Park, as one of the original 14 national parks of Thailand. This park now covers 482.4 km² and spreads from the lowlands at 800 m elevation up to the peak at 2,565 m. Given the varied climatic and
Doi Kham be reduced to ashes. Also, the number of people growing opium poppies was increasing. At the king's command, the royal project was created to provide alternative sources of income for hill tribe villages that formerly relied on opium production and swidden agriculture. The meaning of the words "Doi Kham" comes from two northern Thai words. The word "doi" means 'mountain' or 'hill' while the word "kham" is a shortened word for "thongkham" which means 'gold'. The Royal Project Foundation operates four research stations and thirty-five development centres that work with 295 villages containing 14,109 families. Involved are approximately 85,000 rural