Wat Chedi Luang aka Temple of the Great Stupa
Location - Phra Pokklao Road, Chiangmai
Location - Phra Pokklao Road, Chiangmai
Wat Chedi Luang is located next door to Wat Pan Tao and is a short walk from Wat Phra Singh. Click here to see Map
Notes - visiting Wats requires you to be appropriately dress and entering the halls requires you to take off your shoes.
Notes - visiting Wats requires you to be appropriately dress and entering the halls requires you to take off your shoes.
Wat Chedi Luang's massive chedi [pagoda] was built sometime between 1385 and 1402, during the reign of King Saen Muang Ma, 7th ruler of the Mengrai dynasty to house the ashes of his father, King Ku Na.
At its peak, the chedi measured 60 metres across at the square base and 80 metres tall and was once the home of the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most sacred religious relic, which was moved here from Lampang in 1485.
Damaged during an earthquake in 1545, the chedi’s height is reduced to 197 feet and 184 feet wide and was covered in both bronze plates and gold leaf.
Chedi Luang means “royal chedi” and this was the official temple of the Lanna kings situated as it was adjacent to the former royal palace.
Some of the outlying buildings are interesting to see like
- the smaller but attractive Lanna-style viharn
- the impressive reclining Buddha image on the west side of the chedi.
- there’s also a shrine containing the city pillar and plenty of small shrines surrounding the complex containing ‘guardian spirits’.
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