"Wat Phra That Lampang Luang" a Lampang Travel Page by CyrilHH

Lampang is located about one hour southeast of Chiang Mai, and makes for a pleasant stop over on your way to Sukhothai.

I did not visit the town proper which is renowned for its horse-pulled carriages as the main means of transportation.

Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is located a bit afield, about 18km southwest from the town (but can't be missed from the main road thanks to good signposting). It is one of the nicest and most revered temple compounds in Northern Thailand and worth a visit due to its striking setting on a hilltop and its well preserved state. When I visited there was a religious ceremony going on which was accompanied by extremely loud music (?) and prayers (?) from loudspeakers.

The inside of the Wat is quite charming due to the nicely oxydized greenish copper Chedi, a wihan with beautiful, if faded, gold paintings on wood and an array of old buddhas, as well as a number of strange looking white clay buddha (?) statues that are the object of much veneration and offerings (pork heads, fruit and flowers, see pix in Tips section).

The naga serpent has special significance in Buddhism since it protected Buddha in his journeys.

This one was decorated with flowers on the occasion of a local festivity.

I liked these colorful animals. Took me ages to take the picture cos the wind was playing around a lot with the flag.