Buddhist ‘Wat’ Temple Tour

Hire a car and driver to cruise leisurely between one ancient pile of stones and the next. Start by heading ten miles west of Chiang Mai town, to Wat Doi Suthep, a mountaintop temple 3,500 feet above sea level that confers exceptional vistas of the surrounding Himalayan foothills. Doi Suthep Mountain was originally inhabited by the Lua people who believed the souls of their ancestors lived at the summit. The temple was built in the late 14^th century when Buddhism became the dominant religion here. According to legend, King Geu Na ordered that a relic of the holy Buddha be strapped to the back of a sacred white elephant that was turned loose. The elephant stopped at the summit of Doi Suthep and the king ordered that a golden pagoda be built here to house a sacred Buddha relic. Climb 306 steps up an almost vertical staircase, or take the cable car to this magnificent Lanna style shimmering gilded chedi, or pagoda, that is today one of the most sacred in Thailand.

Built in the forested foothills of Doi Suthep Mountain, the 14^th century Wat U Mong is named for its distinguishing feature, as umong (Thai for tunnel). The forested grounds beneath the gilded chedi are crisscrossed with tunnels, allegedly because this temple was built to keep one of its original monks who was highly regarded but slightly mad, from wandering off.

Back in Chiang Mai, Wat Prha Singh built in 1345 is known as the Monastery of the Lion Buddha. The exquisite gold lacquered assembly hall, Viharn Lao Kham, contains the Phra Sihing Buddha, the city's most venerated Buddha image. Built in the 14^th century by King Mengrai the founder of Chiang Mai, Wat Chiang Man is believed to be Chiang Mai's oldest and is most famous for its two Buddhas: the miniature crystal White Emerald Buddha, or Phra Sae Tang Khamani and the marble Phra Sila Buddha. Nearby, Wat Chedi Luang dates to 1481 and houses a Buddhist university where visitors come from around the world for daily monk chats.