Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Umong and 4 more
Somewhere to go today. These stops are near each other, so the day is mostly spent at them rather than between them. We have not written this one up — the distances are measured and the descriptions come from Wikipedia, and it is offered as a suggestion rather than a guide we have driven.
The day
In order, with the drive between each.
- 1
Wat Phan Tao
A hall of dark teak panels beside Wat Chedi Luang, salvaged from a royal residence in the nineteenth century, with a peacock over the door and a single gilded Buddha in the low, dim interior. Easily missed, and the best room in the old city.
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Wikipedia →Stefan Fussan · CC BY-SA 3.0 3 min · 1 km - 2
Wat Chedi Luang
In the middle of the old city, on what was the administrative centre of Lanna. The great chedi was the tallest building in the kingdom until it lost its upper section, and has been left as it stands.
5:00 AM – 10:30 PM
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 2 min · 0 km - 3
Wat Phra Singh
Holds Phra Buddha Sihing, the most revered image in the city, carried out for Songkran each year. The Lai Kham wihan behind the main hall is small, dark and gilded, and is the reason to come.
5:30 AM – 7:30 PMTourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 4 min · 1 km - 4
Wat Sri Suphan
The silver temple on Wualai Road, in the quarter where Chiang Mai's silversmiths have always worked. The ordination hall is worked in silver and aluminium inside and out, by monks and by the craftsmen of the street. The temple itself is about 500 years old.
8:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 8 min · 2 km - 5
Wat Suan Dok
The flower garden temple, also called Wat Buppharam: built more than 600 years ago in what had been a royal garden, to house a relic of the Buddha. The white chedis in the western yard hold the ashes of Chiang Mai's ruling family.
6:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 10 min · 3 km - 6
Wat Umong
A forest temple of some 700 years west of the city, built with brick tunnels running under a mound. Sayings are hung from the trees along the paths, and there is a pond with fish and pigeons at the far end.
4:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Tourism Directory →Ministry of Tourism & Sports · Ministry of Tourism & Sports, Thailand 10 min · 3 km - ⌂
