Chiang Mai Highlights Tour

Temples, bridges, and markets: the Ping River area

Your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel at 0800 for your Chiang Mai Highlights Tour. Today we will focus on the history of Chiang Mai. We will drive to the Ping River, an important transportation route, before Bangkok reached Chiang Mai in 1922. We will cross the famous Iron Bridge, where we will stop briefly. From here, we will walk along the Ping River to one of Chiang Mai’s oldest hotels and the First Christian Church of the city, founded in 1868. We will continue to Wat Ket, a temple that houses a remarkable small museum with lots of historical photos of Chiang Mai and interesting artifacts.

We cross the Chansom Memorial Bridge to the most famous markets of Chiang Mai, the adjoining Warorot and Ton Lamyai markets. You will hear the story of the devastating fire that destroyed the markets in 1968. Close to the markets is a Chinese temple that we will visit. By now, it is time for lunch. We will take you to a riverside restaurant where you will enjoy a delicious Thai lunch. After lunch, we will drive through Thapae Road to Thapae Gate, entering the Old City.

The magnificent temples of Chiang Mai

Here we will visit the spectacular Wat Chedi Luang. The temple dates back to the 14th century. Its chedi, or stupa, collapsed in 1545. For more than 400 years, it remained in a ruined state until its reconstruction in the 1990s. Not everyone in Chiang Mai was happy with the restoration of Wat Chedi Luang. Judge for yourself, I would say.

Wat Phra Singh is our next stop. It is one of the most revered temples in North Thailand. You can meet a Buddhist monk if you wish. From Wat Phra Singh, we drive up to Doi Suthep, a 1600-meter high mountain towering over Chiang Mai.

Visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a beautiful temple from which you have a fantastic view of the city. Your guide will tell you about the temple’s history and Kruba Srivichai, the monk whose followers constructed the road to the temple in 1935. Return to your hotel in the late afternoon after an unforgettable Chiang Mai Highlights Tour. If time allows, we will stop on the way down at the small forest temple Wat Pha Lat. We will drop you off at your hotel after our Chiang Mai Highlights Tour.

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