Built to hold a king's ashes, named for a much later arrival
The temple was founded in 1345 by King Pha Yu, the fifth ruler of the Mangrai dynasty, to house the ashes of his father, King Kham Fu. For its first two decades it carried a different name — Wat Li Chiang Phra. That changed in 1367, when the Phra Singh Buddha image (also called Phra Buddha Sihing, "the Lion Buddha") was brought to the temple and installed there, and the whole complex was renamed in its honour. The image's exact origin is disputed — local tradition holds it travelled from Sri Lanka through several kingdoms before reaching Chiang Mai, though its style suggests it may actually have been cast locally. Either way, it quickly became, and remains, one of the most venerated Buddha images in Northern Thailand.
The Lai Kham chapel: the reason architecture students visit
The temple's centrepiece isn't the main viharn visitors see first through the entrance — it's the smaller Wiharn Lai Kham, tucked toward the rear of the complex. Also built in 1345 during the same original construction, it houses the Phra Singh image itself and is widely considered one of the finest surviving examples of classical Lanna monastic architecture anywhere. The building fell into disrepair as Chiang Mai's population declined during a period of Burmese occupation, and its revival began in the early 19th century under King Kawila, continuing under his successor, King Thammalangka, who commissioned the murals that now line its interior walls.
Those murals, painted in the 1820s, depict two folk tales rather than purely religious scenes: the story of Sang Thong (a prince born from a golden conch shell) on one wall, and the tale of Suwanna Hong on the other — both woven through with details of everyday 19th-century Lanna life, clothing and customs, which is part of why art historians value them as much for their social detail as their religious content. They've faded significantly and suffered some structural damage over two centuries, but a substantial portion remains visible, and the Fine Arts Department has restored sections on multiple occasions, most notably around Chiang Mai's 700th anniversary.
What else is on the grounds
- Wiharn Luang: the large main assembly hall you encounter first, rebuilt in the 1920s on the footprint of the original 14th-century structure; it houses a substantial seated Buddha image, Phra Chao Thong Tip, cast in gold and copper in the 15th century.
- Ho Trai (monastic library): raised on a stone platform, considered one of the most beautiful examples of its kind in Thailand, originally built to protect precious Buddhist manuscripts from insects and flooding.
- The main chedi: enlarged multiple times since the 14th century, decorated with elephant figures at its base, echoing the same design language seen at Wat Chedi Luang across town.
- A smaller, later chedi behind the Lai Kham chapel, built in the early 16th century, with a distinctive five-tiered roof and (according to some accounts) a narrow internal passage once connecting its inner chamber to the chapel itself.
Songkran and the Phra Singh procession
Once a year, during Songkran (Thai New Year, mid-April), the Phra Singh image is carefully brought out of the Lai Kham chapel and placed on an ornately decorated ceremonial carriage for a procession through the streets of Chiang Mai. Tens of thousands of locals and visitors line the route to take part in "song nam phra" — gently sprinkling the image with jasmine-scented water as a blessing ritual. If your visit happens to fall during Songkran, this is one of the more meaningful cultural events layered on top of the city-wide water fights most visitors already know about — see our best time to visit guide for how Songkran fits into the wider calendar.
Visiting practicalities
- Location: western side of the Old City, on Samlan Road, an easy walk from Wat Chedi Luang.
- Opening hours: grounds generally open 6:00am–8:00pm daily; the main Lai Kham viharn itself typically opens a little later and closes earlier.
- Entry: the temple grounds are free; a modest entry fee applies for the Lai Kham chapel specifically, with cloth wraps available to rent inexpensively if you need one.
- Nearby: it's a regular stop on the Sunday Walking Street route, so combining a temple visit with the market is easy if your dates line up — see our Sunday Walking Street guide.
Standard temple etiquette applies: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off before entering the viharn and Lai Kham chapel, and quiet, respectful movement throughout — this remains an active, working monastery, not a museum. See our full temple etiquette guide.