Wat Phra That Lampang Luang

Wat Phra That Lampang Luang Review

Near the village of Ko Khang is Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, one of the most venerated temples in the north. It's also one of the most striking. Surrounded by stout laterite defense walls, the temple has the appearance of a fortress—and that's exactly what it was when the legendary Queen Chamthewi founded her capital here in the 8th century. The Burmese captured it two centuries ago, but were ejected by the forces of a Lampang prince (a bullet hole marks the spot where he killed the Burmese commander). The sandy temple compound has much to hold your interest, including a tiny chapel with a hole in the door that creates an amazing, inverted photographic image of the Wat's central, gold-covered chedi. The temple's ancient viharn has a beautifully carved wooden facade; note the painstaking workmanship of the intricate decorations around the porticoes. A museum has excellent woodcarvings, but its treasure is a small emerald Buddha, which some claim was carved from the same stone as its counterpart in Bangkok.