Temples of Chiang Mai

Wat Phra Singh was founded in 1345 by King Phayu to house the ashes of his father, and it took its name from the Phra Buddha Sihing image, which arrived around 1400. Its Viharn Lai Kham, built between 1815 and 1821, is decorated with murals of the tales of Sang Thong and Suwannahong. Wat Chedi Luang's great chedi was begun in the late 14th century under King Saen Mueang Ma and completed in the mid-15th century under King Tilokarat, reaching an estimated 82 metres. From 1468 its eastern niche held the Emerald Buddha, now in Bangkok, until the image was taken to Luang Prabang in 1551. The upper part of the chedi collapsed in 1545, and the ruin was partly reconstructed in the 1990s with UNESCO and Japanese funding. The city pillar, the Sao Inthakhin, was moved into the temple grounds in 1800.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep dates to 1383. According to legend, King Kue Na placed a fragment of a Buddha relic on the back of a white elephant, which climbed the mountain and died at its summit, and the temple was built where it fell. For centuries pilgrims reached it on foot, until a road up the mountain was built in 1935 under the revered monk Khruba Siwichai.

Temples are woven into city life: early-morning alms rounds, temple fairs and the Sunday walking street market along Ratchadamnoen Road, which runs past Wat Phra Singh. In May the Inthakhin festival at Wat Chedi Luang honours the city pillar. Northern food is easy to find nearby, notably khao soi, a curried noodle soup, and sai ua, a herb-heavy sausage.