View Accommodations in Lamphun,Lamphun
From Chiang Mai, Route 106, and attractive tree-lined highway, leads southeast to the historic northern Thai cities of Lamphun and Lampang. Straddling the Ping River 25 km (15 miles) south of Chiang Mai, the town of Lamphun is said to date back to the 8th century.
Lamphun was a centre of Mon culture until King Mangrai overran the city in 1281. Once sited on the main road from Chiang Mai to Lampang, the newer highway 11 bypasses Lamphun, which has enabled the town to preserve its mellow upcountry quality. Today, Lamphun is famed for its attractive, confident women, succulent lamyai fruit and two elegant temples. It has also become a popular place of residence for Thai artists seeking peace from frenzied city life.
Wat Phra That Hariphunchai
Lamphun houses two of the most famous temples in Thailand.< strong>Wat Phra That Hariphunchai has one of the eight holiest chedi in the country. For the best perspective of the temple, enter through its riverside gate, where statues of mythical lions guard its portals. Inside the large compound, monks study in a Buddhist school set amidst monuments and buildings that date back to the 11th century, date back to the 11th century, making this temple one of the oldest in northern Thailand. Chedi Suwan, the 50-metre (165-ft) high gold-topped tower in the centre of the courtyard dates back to 1418 and may in fact be built over an older, smaller chedi.
Six hundred years younger, but still respectably old, the gilt-roofed ho trai or library stands to the left of an open-air pavilion that shelters one of the world’s largest bronze gongs. The temple museum contains a representative sampling of several styles of old Buddhist art.
Wat Chama Thewi
A kilometer (1/2 mile) west of Lamphun’s old moat stands < strong>Wat Chama Thewi, also known as Wat Kukut. It was originally built by the Dvaravati Mon in the 8th or 9th century and rebuilt by Hariphunchai Mon in 1218. The monastery contains a superb and unusual tower called Chedi Kukut. The rectilinear chedi consists of five tiers, each of which has three niches. Each niche houses a Buddha statue, making for an impressive display of 15 Buddha images on each side. The overall plan is very similar to Sri Lanka’s Satmahal Prasada, which is approximately a century older, suggesting a Buddhist link between Hariphunchai and Sri Lanka.
Hariphunchai Museum
At nearby Inthayongyot Road is the Hariphunchai National Museum (admission charge; tel: 0-5351 1186), which has a very good collection of historical artefacts on the surrounding region. These mainly focus on the Hariphunchai kingdom, along with a number of items from the Dvaravati and Lanna kingdoms.
Thai Elephant Conservation Centre
Off highway 11, southeast towards Lampang from Lamphun or Chiang Mai, and between Km 28 and Km 29, is the royally sponsored Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (admission charge; tel: 0-5422 8035; www.changthai.com). The 122-hectare (301-acre) centre stages elephant shows twice a day (three times a day on weekends and holidays) to demonstrate how elephants were once used as work animals for logging and agriculture. The elephants have been trained to play music together on gigantic Thai musical instruments. They can also hold brushes in their trunks and paint colourful scenes on canvases, all of which are available for purchase after the show.
For an additional fee, visitors can take elephant rides through the grounds, lasting from 15 minutes to one hour. But it’s not all play – an elephant hospital here treats sick or injured pachyderms.
This information is provided and copyrighted by Inside Guides Thailand
