Tha Phae Gate, Chiang Mai
The restored eastern gate of the old city walls, and the square where Chiang Mai holds its festivals.
Tha Phae Gate, Chiang Mai
Tha Phae Gate is the main surviving gate in Chiang Mai's old city wall, on the eastern side, where the moat is crossed to enter the walled square. The city was founded in 1296 and the wall and moat still define its shape almost exactly; the gate has been rebuilt more than once, most recently from photographs and archaeological work in the 1980s.
The open brick plaza in front of it is the city's default gathering place - the end point of the Sunday walking street, the setting for Loi Krathong and Songkran, and where the pigeons and the buskers are on an ordinary evening. Sections of the original wall run away on either side.
It is the most useful orientation point in Chiang Mai: the old city temples are inside the gate, and the night bazaar and the river are a straight walk east from it.
- Three Kings Monument — The Three Kings Monument honors Chiang Mai's founding rulers with a striking bronze statue, drawing visitors keen on local...
- Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai — The most revered temple in the old city, and the best surviving example of classic Lanna architecture.
- Wat Umong, Chiang Mai — A forest monastery below Doi Suthep, built around a network of brick meditation tunnels.
- Doi Inthanon National Park — The highest mountain in Thailand, with cloud forest, waterfalls and the twin royal chedis near the summit.
- Warorot Market, Chiang Mai — Chiang Mai's main covered market - northern food, textiles and the city's Chinatown around it.
- Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai — The ruined brick chedi at the centre of the old city, once the tallest structure in the Lanna kingdom.
