Northern Thailand
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Northern Thailand - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple)
One of Thailand's most astonishing buildings, Wat Rong Khun stands like a glistening, sugar-coated wedding cake beside the A-1 Chiang Rai–Bangkok motorway south of Chiang Rai. Popularly called the White Temple because of its lustrous exterior, the extraordinary structure was built by internationally renowned Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, assisted by a team of more than 40 young artists, craftsmen, and construction workers, as a Buddhist act of winning merit. The glistening effect comes from thousands of reflective glass mosaics set into the white stucco. In addition to the Buddhas, there are images from contemporary culture, including spaceships and Superman. A songthaew ride to the temple from Chiang Rai costs about B50.
A-1 Chiang Rai–Bangkok motorway, Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, ThailandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
2. Baan Dam Museum
One of Thailand's most unusual architectural and artistic displays, the Baan Dam Museum, also known as the Black House, is essentially a vast outdoor art gallery, dominated by macabre and rather sinister imagery. It was conceived of by celebrated national artist Thawan Duchanee over the course of 36 years, and includes the work of a number of other artists. The sprawling compound has multiple buildings and artworks spread over the grounds, including monumental wood carvings, black thrones made of buffalo horns, and the artists’ likeness transformed into Buddhist imagery. It's creepy and fascinating and is a stark contrast to the nearby White Temple.
333 Moo 13 Nang-Lee, Muang, Chiang Rai, 57100, ThailandSight Details
Rate Includes: B80 -
3. Hilltribe Museum & Education Center
The cultures, ways of life, and crafts of the many hill tribe people that populate the Chiang Rai region are explained with extensive displays at this exemplary museum in the city center. The museum also supports its own travel service, PDA Tour, which organizes visits to hill tribe villages under the motto "We don't support human zoos!"
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4. Mae Salong Village
Town/VillageVisit this remote mountain village northwest of Chiang Rai, and you could be excused for believing you'd strayed over a couple of borders and into China. The one-street hamlet—the mountainside leaves no room for further expansion—is the home of the descendants of Chinese Nationalist troops who arrived here in the 1960s after spending a dozen or so years in Burma following the Communists' ascension to power in China. The settlers established orchards and tea and coffee plantations that now drape the mountainsides; in December and January, visitors crowd the slopes to admire the cherry blossoms and swaths of sunflowers. Call at any of the numerous tea shops for a pot of refreshing oolong. A local bus service runs from Chiang Rai to Mae Salong (the village's official, Thai, name is Santikhiri), and most Chiang Rai travel agents offer day tours for about B3,000.
Mae Salong, Chiang Rai, 57110, Thailand -
5. Oub Kham Museum
Lanna history and culture are vividly chronicled at this jewel of a facility on the outskirts of Chiang Rai. The museum, in an attractive complex of historic buildings, displays several centuries' worth of local artifacts, including the throne and coronation robes of a 16th-century Lanna ruler.
81/1 Rai Mai Luang Rd., Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand053-713349Sight Details
Rate Includes: B300 -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Wat Phra Kaew
The Emerald Buddha, which now sits in Thailand's holiest temple, Wat Phra Keo in Bangkok, is said to have been discovered when lightning split the chedi housing it at this similarly named temple at the foot of the Doi Tong in Chiang Rai. A Chinese millionaire financed a jade replica in 1991, and though it's not the real thing, the statuette is still strikingly beautiful.
19 Trairat Rd., Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand -
7. Wat Phra Singh
This 14th-century temple is worth visiting for its viharn, distinguished by some remarkably delicate wood carving and for colorful frescoes depicting the life of Lord Buddha. A sacred Indian Bhodhi tree stands in the peaceful temple grounds.
Singhaclai Rd., Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand -
8. Wat Phrathat Doi Chom Thong
Near the summit of Doi Tong, this temple overlooks the Mae Kok River. The ancient pillar that stands here once symbolized the center of the universe for devout Buddhists. The sunset view is worth the trip.
ArjAmnuay Rd, Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57000, Thailand
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