Chiang Mai
Northern Thailand's old Lanna capital: a moated Old City of historic temples, Doi Suthep above town and Doi Inthanon beyond.
The Lanna capital that still keeps its moat
Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 by King Mangrai as the capital of the Lanna kingdom, according to Thailand's UNESCO Tentative List entry. The city took over from Chiang Rai as the Lanna capital, and the walled centre built then is still the heart of the place: a rectangle bordered by a moat and by stretches of old red-brick wall, with gates such as Tha Phae and Chang Phueak still standing. What makes the city worth a slow few days is how much of its history sits inside that Old City. Wat Phra Singh, dated to 1345, lies within the walls and houses the Phra Singh Buddha. Wat Chedi Luang, begun in the 14th century, is dominated by a large Lanna-style chedi that an earthquake in 1545 shortened. Wat Chiang Man is described as the city's oldest temple, from the 13th century, where Mangrai is said to have lived while the city was being laid out. The Lanna kingdom later came under Burmese rule from 1558, and that lasted, with interruptions, until the city was taken in January 1775 with Siamese help. Beyond the moat the setting changes quickly. Doi Suthep, the mountain on the western edge of town, carries one of northern Thailand's best-known temples, and Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest peak, lies within the province. Chiang Mai also holds a place on Thailand's UNESCO Tentative List as the Lanna monuments entry, although it is not a World Heritage Site, and UNESCO named it a City of Crafts and Folk Arts in 2017.
Explore Chiang Mai on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
The unmissable Chiang Mai
What Chiang Mai is for
Most of what is worth seeing sits in three belts: inside the moat, on the western hills, and further out in the province.
Inside the Old City: Lanna temples
- Wat Phra Singh, dated to 1345, lies within the walls on the western side of the Old City. It was built by King Phayu to enshrine his father Khamfu's ashes, and it houses the Phra Singh Buddha image, which came to the temple in 1400.
- Viharn Lai Kham, the chapel at Wat Phra Singh that holds the image, was built between 1815 and 1821. It is a Lanna-style hall known for gold-leaf and lacquer work and murals of the Sang Thong and Suwannahongse tales.
- Wat Chedi Luang in the historic centre was begun in the 14th century and finished in the mid-15th. The chedi was about 82 m tall until the 1545 earthquake brought down its upper part, and it was rebuilt in the early 1990s with UNESCO and Japanese funding.
- The city's foundation post, the Sao Inthakin, was moved to the Wat Chedi Luang grounds in 1800. Wat Chedi Luang is therefore also the temple that holds the City Pillar shrine.
- Wat Chiang Man, from the 13th century, is described as the oldest temple in the city and is tied to Mangrai's time overseeing the building of Chiang Mai.
The walls, moat and gates
- The moat and the red-brick wall remnants are the clearest outline of the original Lanna city plan, and the Tha Phae and Chang Phueak gates are two of the surviving gate sites.
- Walking the Old City is the simplest way to see how closely the temples sit to one another, since several of the main ones lie within the square of the moat.
Mountains and parks
- Wat Phra That Doi Suthep stands on Doi Suthep at roughly 1,073 m to the northwest of the city and has its own page.
- Doi Suthep-Pui National Park begins at the western edge of the city. Doi Pui, at 1,685 m, is the tallest of its three main peaks.
- Doi Inthanon National Park, in Chom Thong district of Chiang Mai province, contains Thailand's highest peak at 2,565 m and has its own page.
Crafts and food culture
- UNESCO named Chiang Mai a City of Crafts and Folk Arts in 2017.
- Wua Lai Road is known in the city as its silver street.
- Khan tok, a shared meal served on a small raised tray, is described as a Lanna tradition roughly a century old.
Three days: the Old City, Doi Suthep, Doi Inthanon
Inside the moat
Start at Wat Phra Singh and its Lai Kham chapel in the west of the Old City, then continue to Wat Chedi Luang and the City Pillar shrine. Finish at Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple, and walk part of the moat past Tha Phae Gate.
Doi Suthep
Give the day to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, its seven-headed naga stairway and the golden Lanna-style pagoda. Use the viewpoint over the city, and note that Doi Suthep-Pui National Park surrounds the temple area.
Doi Inthanon
Spend the day in Doi Inthanon National Park in Chom Thong district, with the highest peak in Thailand, the Mae Klang, Wachirathan, Siriphum and Mae Ya waterfalls and the twin royal pagodas, all listed on TAT's park page.
Arriving & getting around
Chiang Mai is easy to understand on a map once you know the three zones.
Reading the geography
- The Old City is a moated rectangle in the centre, and Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Chiang Man all sit inside it or on its immediate edge.
- Doi Suthep rises to the west, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is about 11 km from the centre by TAT's measure. Visitors can climb the stairway or go up by road.
- Doi Inthanon lies in Chom Thong district, outside the city, so it works as a separate outing rather than something to fit around the Old City.
Insider tips
A few things that help the Old City make sense.
Practical
- Several temples here have more than one founding date because construction was spread over generations. Wat Chedi Luang was begun in the 14th century and completed in the mid-15th, so read dates as stages.
- The city is older than the Chiang Mai you see on the map. Mangrai moved the Lanna capital from Chiang Rai to Wiang Kum Kam before founding Chiang Mai.
- Wat Chedi Luang once housed the Emerald Buddha, installed there in 1468 and moved to Luang Prabang in 1551 after the earthquake.
- The rebuilt Wat Chedi Luang chedi has been criticised by some for following Central Thai rather than Lanna style, so it reads differently from the older ruined sections.
- Festivals follow a lunar rule. Loi Krathong falls on the full moon of the 12th lunar month and is celebrated with Yi Peng, when Lanna-style sky lanterns are launched. Songkran marks the Thai New Year in mid-April.
Easy day trips
Places within the province
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