Best Temples in Chiang Mai

The temple that defines Chiang Mai sits at about 1,060 m on the flank of Doi Suthep, 15 km from the Old City. Legend says a white elephant carrying a relic of the Buddha climbed the mountain in 1383, trumpeted three times and died on this spot, and the gilded chedi built over the relic is the most sacred site in northern Thailand. Around it are cloisters of Buddha images, bells and a terrace with the best view over the valley, clearest on cool-season mornings.

From the car park you climb 306 steps of a staircase flanked by two long naga serpents, or take the small tram for a few baht more. Foreigners pay 30 baht at the top; the temple is open roughly 6am to 6pm, and the first two hours are the quiet ones. Shoes come off at the upper terrace, and sarongs are lent at the entrance.

Wat Chedi Luang, in the centre of the Old City on Phra Pokklao Road, is built around a colossal brick chedi begun in the late 14th century. At around 80 m it was the tallest structure in Lanna until an earthquake in 1545 brought down the top; what remains, about 60 m high with elephant sculptures on its base, is still the most impressive ruin in the city. The Emerald Buddha, now in Bangkok, sat in its eastern niche in the 15th and 16th centuries, and a jade replica sits there today.

At the western end of Ratchadamnoen Road, Wat Phra Singh was founded in 1345 and is the city’s most important royal temple. The building to find is the small Viharn Lai Kham behind the main hall, a perfect example of Lanna architecture with layered roofs and gilded gables. Inside sits the Phra Buddha Sihing, the bronze image paraded through the streets at Songkran, surrounded by 19th-century murals showing daily life in old Chiang Mai.

Foreigners pay a small fee, quoted at 20 to 50 baht depending on the season and which halls are open. The grounds also hold a gilded chedi and a hall of lifelike wax figures of revered monks. Come at 8am, before the tour buses, or late afternoon when chanting starts.

Wat Chiang Man, in the north-east corner of the Old City, is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, built from 1296 on the site where King Mengrai camped while the city was laid out. Its Chedi Chang Lom is ringed by 15 brick elephants, and the smaller viharn on the right as you enter holds two treasured images behind a grille: the marble Phra Sila and the tiny crystal Phra Sae Tang Khamani, said to protect the city from rain disaster. Entry is free and it is rarely busy.

Wat Phan Tao stands next door to Wat Chedi Luang, so most people stumble on it by accident. Its viharn is one of the few all-teak buildings left in the city, a former palace hall raised on dark wooden pillars with a peacock carved over the door. Entry is by donation. During Yi Peng in November the monks fill the courtyard and pond with hundreds of lanterns and candles, the most photographed scene of the festival.

Wat Suan Dok, 1 km west of Suan Dok Gate on Suthep Road, was built in 1371 in a royal flower garden for a monk from Sukhothai. Its big gilded chedi is surrounded by a field of white chedis holding the ashes of the Chiang Mai royal family, a striking scene at sunset with Doi Suthep behind. The temple hosts its own monk chat (several evenings a week, usually 5pm to 7pm) and runs short meditation retreats through the Buddhist university on site. Expect a small entry fee for the chedi area.

Wat Umong, 2 km further at the foot of the mountain, is a forest monastery founded in the late 13th century. Its brick tunnels, said to have been built so a meditating monk could not wander off, run under a grassy mound topped by an old chedi; inside, niches hold Buddha images lit by small lamps. Around them are woods hung with proverb signs, a lake with turtles and fish, and monks who still practise meditation here. Entry is free or by donation, it opens around 6am to 6pm, and it is the coolest, quietest place in the city at noon.

Wat Sri Suphan, on a lane off Wualai Road in the Wualai silversmith quarter, is the “silver temple”: its ordination hall (ubosot) is covered inside and out in hammered silver and aluminium panels made by local craftsmen. Entry costs 50 baht. Women are not allowed inside the ordination hall, because of a Lanna belief that sacred objects buried under the floor lose their power; signs make this clear, and women can see the whole exterior and the other buildings. The temple is lit up after dark, which makes a Saturday visit, when the Wualai walking street runs outside the gate, the obvious plan. Some evenings the temple runs its own monk chat and short meditation sessions.

Wat Pha Lat sits halfway up Doi Suthep beside a stream that spills over rock slabs, with moss-covered statues, a small chedi and a view back over the city. It was once a rest stop for pilgrims climbing the mountain. The Monk’s Trail starts at the top of Suthep Road behind Chiang Mai University, marked by orange robes tied to the trees, and takes about 45 minutes to an hour uphill to Pha Lat. From there a steeper path continues to the road just below Doi Suthep, another hour or so. Since October 2025 the national park charges foreigners 100 baht for the Pha Lat nature trail; the temple itself, reached from the main road, is free. Go early, take water, and turn back in heavy rain when the rocks get slippery.

• Wat Jet Yod: on the superhighway north of Nimman, a 15th-century chedi with seven spires modelled on the Mahabodhi temple in India.
• Wat Bupparam: on Tha Phae Road, an ornate Lanna viharn and a smaller Burmese-style hall a few minutes from the Night Bazaar.
• Wat Ketkaram: across the Ping River, with a small museum of old Chiang Mai photographs and household objects.
• Wat Chiang Yuen: north of the moat, a Burmese-style white chedi and a quiet courtyard.
• Wiang Kum Kam: the excavated city that preceded Chiang Mai, 5 km south, with a dozen brick temple ruins best seen by bicycle or horse cart.

This loop covers the Old City temples on foot, about 4 km, and adds the western temples by Grab or red truck.

On a Saturday, swap the evening for Wat Sri Suphan and the Wualai walking street; on a Sunday, finish at the Sunday Walking Street along Ratchadamnoen Road, which runs right past Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang.

Cover your shoulders and knees at every temple: no vest tops, short shorts or short skirts, and avoid see-through fabric. Doi Suthep and Wat Phra Singh lend or rent sarongs at the gate; elsewhere carry a scarf. Take your shoes off before entering any viharn or ubosot (a pile of sandals at the steps tells you where), and do not step on the raised threshold. Sit with your feet tucked behind you, never pointing at a Buddha image or a monk, and do not climb on statues or chedis for photos.

Women should not touch monks, sit next to them on transport or hand them things directly; place an offering on a cloth or table instead. Several Lanna temples, including Wat Sri Suphan’s ordination hall and the city pillar shrine at Wat Chedi Luang, are closed to women. Most temples open at 6am and close at 5pm or 6pm, with ticket desks at the paid ones open from about 8am. Photography is fine in the grounds; ask before photographing monks, and turn off the flash indoors. For wider customs, see our guide to Thai culture and etiquette.