The 1434 discovery
Where the Emerald Buddha appeared.
Ddalbiez — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Stefan Fussan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Iudexvivorum — CC0 · Iudexvivorum — CC0
The town's most historically important temple: it was here in 1434 that the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most sacred image, was discovered when lightning struck the old stupa and revealed the statue hidden inside a plaster casing. Over centuries the statue then passed between several cities before settling in the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Today the temple displays a green jade replica made in China in 1991, kept in an elegant Lanna-style timber hall, beside the stupa where the statue was found, a main prayer hall, and a small museum of religious and historic art from the north. Entry is free, the temple opens in the daytime, and it is calm among large trees. Modest dress is required: shoulders and knees covered, and shoes off before entering the halls. It stands in the old town near the old clock tower, so it can be visited on foot on a centre walk with Doi Chom Thong temple on the nearby hill.
Where the Emerald Buddha appeared.
In a Lanna-style timber hall.
Religious art of the north.
Trairat Road, old town, Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai Clock TowerThe symbol of central Chiang Rai: an ornate golden clock tower in the middle of 8 minutes walk
Wat Phra That Doi Chom ThongA temple on a small hill overlooking the Kok River at the north-west edge of the8 minutes walk
Chiang Rai Night BazaarThe town's permanent night market, open every evening by the old bus station in 12 minutes walk
Blue Temple (Wat Rong Suea Ten)The third of Chiang Rai's famous art temples, drenched in royal blue inside and 24 minutes walkNo, the original is in Bangkok's Grand Palace; here is a 1991 jade replica, but this is where it was historically found.