Phrae's Wat Luang

The temple is located on Kam Lu Road Soi 1, at the heart of Phrae’s most historic district. The temple grounds have a heady mix of crumbling stone architecture and a few more recent structures. For many tourists, this is the first official stop on a tour of Phrae town center.

Most historians and archeologists believe that Wat Luang was built in the 12th century when Phrae itself was founded. Legends go back even further, claiming that Wat Luang was built in the 9th century by Phor Khun Luang Pol, a legendary leader. There may be some truth to these old stories, but the buildings that stand today are certainly not that ancient.

The oldest structure at Wat Luang is a crumbling brick entrance to the town, located at the entrance to the temple, which is now used as a shrine to a former Lanna leader There’s also a very old octagonal chedi, called the Chang Kham, which is ringed by elephants around its base. There’s also a museum on the temple grounds, which is usually open only at weekends, but if you can rouse someone, they might open it for you to take a look at its collection of Buddha images, palm-leaf manuscripts and old photographs. Much more recent is the viharn (assembly hall), which was built in the 1870s. It’s a classic example of Lanna-style architecture, apart from the laterite facade which was added later. The Buddha image in the viharn is a replica of an impressive Chiang Saen style Buddha that was looted at the turn of the 20th century.