Wat Chiang Man

5 Miles Macdonald - 8 months ago

Completed in 1297 this is the oldest Royal Temple in ancient city. Several very old Buddha statues are housed in one of the building here, a crystal Buddha around 1800 years old and a marble Buddha around 2500 years old. Some lovely murals on the walls depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. Small lake at the rear with stitleted house in the middle accessible vie drawbridhe only.

5 Christian Bannard - 7 months ago

Beautiful temple, well worth a visit, amazing to walk around the grounds. There's a few temples here so really nice to see the different styles of architecture that form Thai heritage!

5 Joe Udo - 8 months ago

The first temple in Chiang Mai. It was built next to the king's residents when they built the new capital of Lanna. Calm and peaceful. Old style murals tell the story of the wat inside the main building.
One of the major temples in Chiang Mai to visit.

4 Nice person - 3 weeks ago

actual score:4.3/5
google score:4/5

I love this temple very much. ecspecially the tower encompassed with the ancient elephant style stone pillar. It gives you a sesne of spendid and grandeur

for average tourist, I think you may like to spend 40 minutes to one hour here. If you really like buddaism, maybe you would like to stay in the temple and enjoy the inner peace.

5 Phyo Min Maung Maung - 5 days ago

The Wat Chiang Man is the oldest temple in Chiang Mai and goes back all the way to the founding of the city in 1296.
When King Mengrai decided to build a new city and make it the new capital of the Lanna Kingdom, he build the Wat Chiang Man as the first temple of the new city on the site he used to supervise the construction of Chiang Mai. The temple holds several very old and important Buddha images.

Structures of the Wat Chiang Man
The chedi
Like in most wats, the oldest structure is the chedi. The chedi named Chang Lom Chedi or Elephant Chedi sits on a square base supporting a second level of grey stone that is surrounded by 15 elephants that seem to emerge from it.
On top sits the gilded upper part of the chedi, which contains a relic chamber. The chedi is a mixture of Lanna and Singhalese styles.

The large viharn
The larger of the two viharns is an impressive building with a three tiered roof. The front of the Lanna style viharn is decorated with wood carvings in gold and ochre colors.
The building was renovated in the 1920’s by the famous monk Khru Ba Srivichai. This viharn houses the oldest Buddha image in Chiang Mai. The image is a standing Buddha holding an alms bowl, the inscription on its base dates it to 1465.

The small viharn
The smaller of the viharns which is also built in Lanna style contains two small, but very old and important Buddha images. The stairs to the viharns entrance are guarded by Nagas, a mythical snake like creature.
Opposite the entrance behind the large central Buddha image is a ku, a throne like structure where the two highly revered images are kept.

How to get to the Wat Chiang Man
The Wat Chiang Man is located in the North East corner of the old walled part of Chiang Mai, between Phra Pok Klao 13 road and Ratchaphakhinai 1 road. Entering the old walled part of the city through the Chang Puak gate in the North wall, take a left turn to Ratchaphakhinai 1 road. The temple is then on the right side after about 200 meters.

Opening hours
The temple complex is open daily from 6 am until 5 pm.

Entrance fee
Admission is free.

4 Benjamin Zhan - a month ago

A relatively smaller temple grounds amongst the city of temples yet it stands out. The two relics held on site dating back hundreds of years is to behold. The general maintenance of the grounds is majestic

5 noneyn - 6 months ago

Beautiful and peaceful place. The monks are playing with the dogs, the birds are singing. I loved this atmosphere so much...