Best Temples in Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailand and the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It’s a very popular destination among ex-pats for exploring Northern Thailand. Surrounded by lush mountains and dotted with temples of cultural importance, Chiang Mai is really beautiful.

As it’s a large city in Northern Thailand, there are more than 300 temples to visit in Chiang Mai. Of course, you can’t visit them all so this post is to help you make your visit easy and see only the top temples in Chiang Mai.

The amount of time you spend in this city will decide how many temples you can visit but some people do try to cover most of these temples in just a span of one day. Crazy, right? To be honest, one day is not enough to get the essence of this city or any of the temples. You should at least spend 2-3 days.

As mentioned already there are more than 300 temples in Chiang Mai so if you are spending a few days here, I would suggest seeing these beautiful ones mentioned here and then explore some hidden gems.

What to wear in Chiang Mai

In my opinion, there is no restriction on what you can wear in the city but this goes without saying that wear proper clothes and be respectful at religious sites. Proper clothes mean a dress or outfit with sleeves and covering your knees.

Quick Information & Tip

All the temples mentioned in this post are listed with their exact google location so that you don’t have to struggle to find them 🙂

If you are coming to Chiang Mai then you may also want to explore its sister city Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai is not as big as Chiang Mai but offers some incredible and never seen before temples along with other things to see & do.

Also, considering it’s so close to Chiang Mai, it can be combined in a single trip. I highly recommend visiting Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai.

You might also wanna read “Most Beautiful Chiang Rai Temples”.

Temples in Chiang Mai Old Town

1. Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh is the second oldest temple after Doi Suthep and highly visited by tourists and locals. This temple is an active place of worship and of prime importance for locals and monks.

I visited this temple first during my visit and despite coming here early in the morning, I saw some monks and locals praying. The temple complex consists of many buildings called Wihans and 2 big golden stupas.

The monks here are very friendly so they may talk to you to brush up their English.

SUVARNA’S TIP: As this temple is quite well known, I suggest going early to beat the crowds but you may still see a few locals doing prayers so be respectful and don’t make any noise. The entrance is free.

Opening hours: 5 am – 8:30 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

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2. Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Chedi Luang is possibly the largest structure in ancient Chiang Mai and the value of the Lanna identity. The top of the chedi was destroyed by either a 16th-century earthquake or by cannon fire during the recapture of Chiang Mai from the Burmese in 1775 (nobody knows for sure). ⁣

This temple complex is huge and Wat Chedi Luang is at the back of the complex. At a glance, this will give you ancient vibes and it truly is marvellous to look at. It’s extremely different from every other temple you will visit.

Entrance fee: The entree to the temple complex is 40 Baht. 

Opening hours: 6am – 5pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

Temples outside Old Town

1. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Overlooking the city, this most sacred and famous temple of Chiang Mai is situated on a mountain top. If you don’t have your mode of transport i.e a bike or car, you can reach here by a songthaew which is a kind of shared taxi.

There are 309 steps that you need to climb to reach the entrance. Once you reach here, you have to pay the entrance fee of 30 baht. If you come here at sunrise which I highly suggest, you will see the sunlight falling on the big golden Cheddi in the center and how beautifully it glows.

The peace and tranquility of this temple truly define the environment of the Buddhist temple. Monks praying silently, the smell of incense sticks everywhere makes this place more magical and something that your mind and soul needs in the morning.

Opening hours: 5 am – 9 pm

Best time to visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep: You should reach this temple before sunrise to see how beautiful the city looks when the sun rises.

Google Maps Location – Click here

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2. Wat Suan Dok

Wat Suan Dok is one of the oldest and prettiest temples that’s famous for its many white chedis. The name roughly translates as “Flower garden temple” as it was once used by the royals as their flower garden.

The big golden Cheddi is 48 meters high and is built in Sri Lankan style and contains the relic of Buddha. A large number of white chedis contains the ashes of members of several generations of the Chiang Mai Royal Family. 

The hall of the main temple is gorgeous and it costs 20BHT to enter, however, the grounds are free. The temple complex has parking and washroom on the grounds.

Opening hours: 6 am – 5 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

3. Wat Rajamontean

While not as popular among tourists, this temple, in my opinion, is one of the best in the city. This temple is nicknamed the red temple because of the red and gold decorations throughout the entire temple. There is a giant Budhha in the complex as well.

SUVARNA’S TIP: You can visit here anytime but the lighting is best at around 4:30 pm.

Opening hours: 6 am – 5 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

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4. Wat Sri Suphan

Wat Sri Suphan is a silver-colored temple that shimmers in the sunlight and is full of intricate details. Most of the work is carried out using alloy and zinc with precious silver being reserved for the holy images.

It is covered entirely with the most intricate and detailed silver panels depicting key moments of Buddha’s life. If there is one temple that stands out from all the other temples in Chiang Mai then it’s this one.

Unfortunately, women are not allowed to enter inside the temple and the reasoning behind this is:

“Beneath the base of Ubosotha in the monastic boundary, many precious things, incantations, amulets, and other holy objects were buried 500 years ago. Entering inside the place may deteriorate the place or otherwise the lady herself. According to this Lanna Belief, ladies are not allowed to enter the Ubosotha.”

While the reasoning is debatable but it is what it is and you have to obey the rules. During my visit, a few ladies entered the temple because they didn’t saw the sign and the monk came and took the ladies for a small ceremony.

Also, there are a lot of cats in this temple in case you are scared of them or don’t like them.

Opening hours – 6 am to 9 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

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5. Wat Upakhut

During my temple hopping in Chiang Mai, I was looking for a temple and by chance stumbled upon this extremely colorful and detailed temple. Wat Upakhut was shockingly empty and super beautiful. There was literally no one as people don’t know about this gorgeous temple or safe to say that it’s not IG famous yet.

But in my opinion, it definitely deserves a visit. So to save you time and struggle, I have included the location. The intricate details and the way they have used the art as decoration was so amazing to see.

Google Maps Location – Click here

6. Wat Phra That Doi Kham

Literally means “Temple of the Golden Mountain,” this temple is perched on Doi Kham hill, surrounded by beautiful mountainous landscapes. This ancient temple has more than 1,300 years of history.

The temple complex is small but the 17-m. sitting Buddha statue takes the breath away as you arrive here. The view from the back of the temple is nice and pretty in the morning.

This temple somehow gives the feel of Doi Suthep but its environment is nowhere close to that one. So if you don’t have much time and want to skip some then you can skip this as it’s also not very close to the city.

Opening hours: 6 am – 5 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

7. Wat Lok Moli

Across the moat on the northern edge of town and facing Wat Rajamontean is a ‘new’ temple based around an old temple dating back to the fourteenth century. It’s not a very big temple and can be visited quickly.

SUVARNA’S TIP: It’s never too crowded so you can combine it with Wat Rajamontean in the late afternoon.

Opening hours: 6 am – 5 pm

Google Maps Location – Click here

Chiang Mai Temples Map

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, even if you don’t have many days to see the temples listed here then make sure to visit Wat Rajamontean, Wat Sri Suphan, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. All of these temples are different from each other and you will get the feel of almost all the temples.

Until the next post.

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