Wat Phra That Cho Hae Temple

Address: Wat Phra That Cho Hae, Cho Hae, Mueang Phrae District, Phrae Province, Thailand

Hours: Daily dawn-dusk

Admission: Free

• Arrive early morning or late afternoon to get the best light over the Phrae plain and to avoid the mid-day heat and tour-bus groups that concentrate around the chedi.
• Take time to walk the temple terraces and lookout points around the main stupa rather than just photographing the exterior-those secondary viewpoints give wide panoramas that many visitors miss.

One of Phrae’s more important religious sites, Wat Phra That Cho Hae dates to the Sukhothai period and sits atop a teak-covered hill about eight kilometres southeast of town. The most important part of the temple is the chedi, 33 metres high and coated in gold sheets. The name Cho Hae derives from a kind of satin that devotees wrap around the chedi.

Another reason for the temple’s fame is its principal Buddha image, the Phra Jao Than Jai, believed to change the fortunes of women who long for a child but are unable to conceive, if they pray in earnest before it. The best time to visit is in March, when the annual fair is staged and locals turn out to make merit, though the temple is popular enough that you will find people making offerings on any day of the week.