Walking around any given area of Chiang Mai, you will come across many Buddhist temples. They’re listed in travel maps, noted in guide books and honoured around the world. I found some beautiful temples in my wanderings and tried my best to capture the dedication that was put into these houses of worship.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Wat Pan Ping (wat means temple).

Construction of this temple began in the 13th century but many temples take decades, if not more, to complete.

Inside Wat Pan Ping:

Wat Phan On located nearby and constructed a bit later, in 1501.

Inside Wat Phan On:

Outside Wat Phan On:

The last one I will share is a big temple, actually referred to as a complex since it has several temples within the grounds.

Wat Phra Singh is one of the biggest and most beautiful in the Old City. It sprawls along the bottom of Ratchadamnoen Road and takes a good 45 minutes to walk through and enjoy.

Another, smaller temple on the grounds, guarded by lions (singh means lion).

Beautiful door frames and window shutters:

Wat Phra Singh was built in 1345 and is famous for the Phra Buddha Singh statue it holds inside (I wasn’t sure which statue it was). The temple grounds fell to neglect during the Burmese rule of Thailand from the late 1500’s to the late 1700’s. You can see some of the decay in the pictures below.

The temple wasn’t restored until the early 1900’s by the monks who resided there. It was later touched up again in 2002.

Another small temple on the grounds:

Other buildings on the grounds. Some, like the temple above, were not for tourists and were being renovated on the inside.

This is just a fraction of the many beautiful temples you can see in Chiang Mai and all over Thailand. I’ve heard there are older and more breathtaking temples in the southern cities like Bangkok and Phuket. If this is the kind of thing that floats your boat when traveling, then Thailand’s many temples are waiting for you.