Wiang Kum Kam temple complex

Posted by Northerner on March 12th, 2011 filed in Attractions

Chiang Mai is famed throughout the region for the quantity and quality of its Buddhist temples, and Wiang Kum Kam is one of the finest.  Legend has it that it that this unique city was founded prior to neighbouring Chiang Mai over 700 years ago. Due to its proximity to the River Ping it was repeatedly flooded and was abandoned around 300 years ago.

Although there were remaining structures, the discovery of religious artefacts in the early 1980s led to extensive excavations. Some of the ancient walls and stupas have been left as they were while others have been restored to their former glory.

Chedi Liam Temple is at the heart of the temple city and boasts a magnificent stupa. As the temples are spread over quite a large area, the easiest way of taking in this and the other temples (wat) is by taking a group tour with an open-sided coach or in a horse-drawn carriage.

The tours leave from the reception and information centre beside Chiang Mai’s outer ringroad and take in Chedi Liam, Wat Nan Chang and Wat Nan Chang as well as a replica old-style Lanna market and a shrine dedicated to Wiang Kum Kam founder King Mengrai.