Chedi Luang Chiang Mai's largest Chedi

Chedi Luang Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chedi Luang is second on my top 3 wat's in Chiang Mai. The first being Doi Suthep, you can check out my post "Doi Suthep" for more info. If you're ever in Chiang Mai, be sure to check this place out, their hours of operation are between 6am and 6pm and being near the centre of the walled city it's walkable if you're already in the ancient city. It's free to enter and will take you at least 30 minutes just to walk around and see everything without stopping for photos or for closer looks. I took around two hours and still wasn't quite satisfied with seeing everything but then again, I like to linger, soak in the atmosphere, feel the energy etc and look for a photo to make.

The modern day property that the Chedi sits on is a merger with two other wats (Wat Ho Tham and Wat Sukmin) so you can enjoy visiting them as well. When you walk onto the premises, the huge ornate prayer hall is quite impressive and houses a 14th century Buddha statue, I found the sheer golden-ness inside truly amazing. As per the norm at all the wats, if you want to go in and check out the interior, you have to take your foot wear off. Don't worry they have shoe racks you can use though, just don't forget which rack you put your shoes on, ha ha.

Chedi Luang Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand

If you're short on time, I suggest you walk around the prayer hall and check out the stupa first because it's truly unique. Why is Chedi Luang so special? Construction began in 1391 so it's old, withstood some natural disasters and is partially rebuilt. At one point in time, it was the largest structure in Chiang Mai and home to the highly revered, original Emerald Buddha. It's by far the biggest Chedi/Stupa I've ever seen and I can only imagine and wonder how grand it was when it was fully intact. I'd recommend a sunrise or sunset visit for some additional color in the sky and you'd probably miss most of the tour crowd too.

After admiring all for sides of the Stupa, there are also a couple of structures housing statues and other religious pieces including the shrine for the "City Pillar" guarded by canons. Yup, I've never seen any religious structure guarded by canons before. I had to Google it, and found out that "City Pillars" are very highly revered pieces of architecture in ancient Thai culture. These pillars were erected at entrances of new cities or at major shrines for housing guardian spirits. Another structure that I found pretty cool was the huge golden Buddha lying down statue. Very detailed and I think covered with gold leaf. I didn't get a chance to go inside the other two wats nor the smaller viharn so I definitely will need to revisit Chedi Luang, it's so worth it!

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