Wat Chalermprakiat, Lampang
White chedis perched on bare limestone pinnacles, reached by a staircase cut into the rock.
Wat Chalermprakiat, Lampang
Wat Chalermprakiat Phrachomklao Rachanusorn stands on a limestone ridge in Chae Hom district, north of Lampang, and is one of the most improbably sited temples in Thailand. A scatter of small white chedis is built directly onto bare rock pinnacles along the crest, each on its own outcrop, linked by narrow concrete stairs and railed walkways pinned to the cliff.
Reaching them takes a steep climb from the car park - the last section is a stair cut into the rock with a chain handrail, exposed on both sides. The reward is a line of white domes against the sky and an uninterrupted view over the forested hills of Chae Hom in every direction.
It is a genuine working monastery and a modern one; the drama is entirely in the siting. The final approach is not suitable for anyone uneasy with heights.
- Baan Sao Nak, Lampang — A 1895 teak house standing on 116 pillars, in Lampang's old Burmese quarter.
- Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao, Lampang — The riverside temple that held the Emerald Buddha for thirty-two years, with a Burmese-style mondop.
- Wat Phra That Lampang Luang — A walled temple on a mound south of Lampang, and the finest surviving wooden Lanna building in Thailand.
