Wat Lok Molee

Wat Lok Molee is a Lanna royal temple just outside the north moat of Chiang Mai’s Old City. It is known for two things: a tall chedi of bare, weathered brick built in 1527, and a dark teak viharn guarded by carved nagas. Entry is free, and it sees a fraction of the visitors who crowd the temples inside the walls.

A temple of the Lanna kings

Nobody knows exactly when the temple was founded, but a charter mentions it in 1367. In that era King Kue Na brought ten monks from Burma to teach Theravada Buddhism, and they were housed here. King Ket, also known as Mueang Ket Klao, commissioned the great chedi in 1527 and the viharn in 1545.

The temple became a royal resting place. Ashes of members of the Mangrai dynasty, the line that founded Chiang Mai and ruled Lanna, were placed here, and the royal family maintained the temple until the dynasty ended. Queen Wisutthithewi, the last Mangrai ruler, is interred in a chedi in the grounds. The temple later fell into ruin, and the buildings you see are the result of a much later revival.

What you’ll see

The chedi is the reason to come. Most Chiang Mai chedis have been plastered, whitewashed or gilded in restorations. This one has been left as old red-brown brick, with a few niches and stucco fragments still clinging to the upper tiers. Its grey and orange tones change with the light.

The viharn is a dark wooden hall with stacked, steep roofs, a carved gable and white nagas coiling down the stair rails. The hall also runs north to south, which is rare: most Thai temples face east, toward the sunrise.

Insider Tip: Come in the last hour before sunset, when the low sun turns the chedi’s brick deep orange and the viharn’s carvings stand out against the dark wood. Then walk 400 metres east to Chang Phueak Gate, where evening food stalls set up along the moat.

Watch out: Lok Molee is outside the moat, so walking loops of the Old City temples tend to miss it. Head north on Phra Pokklao Road to Chang Phueak Gate, turn left along the outside of the moat, and it’s on your right.

Nearby

Wat Chiang Man, the city’s oldest temple, is about 750 metres away inside the north-east corner of the walls. The stacked-ball chedi of Wat Ku Tao is under a kilometre’s walk away. Inside the moat, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang are each about 15 to 20 minutes on foot. Fahlanna Art Museum is a five-minute walk.

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