Wat Mahathat Chedi Sri Wiang Chai

The golden chedi at Wat Mahathat Chedi Sri Wiang Chai rises 64.39 metres from a base roughly 40 metres square — locally described as the largest laterite stupa of its kind in Thailand. It’s a modern structure, not an ancient one: the revered monk Kruba Chaiyawongsa Phatthana initiated its construction in Lamphun’s Li district, in the same Na Sai subdistrict where he founded the better-known Wat Phra Phutthabat Huai Tom.

Temple tradition holds that Kruba Chaiyawongsa discovered relics linked to a past life of the Buddha — a period when, according to the legend, the Buddha-to-be was reborn as an ox — before he commissioned the great chedi to protect the site from encroaching development. The stupa’s shape echoes Myanmar’s Shwedagon Pagoda, reworked in laterite rather than brick and gold leaf, and it was designed as a Buddha chedi of the Bhadrakalpa — intended, according to temple accounts, to honour five Buddhas, and said to be the first monument of its kind in Thailand and the second worldwide.

Li district sits roughly 117 kilometres, about two hours by road, south of Lamphun town, in a rural stretch better known for its Karen hill-tribe communities than for temple tourism. The golden stupa is visible from a distance across the flat approach road, and the site draws far fewer visitors than Lamphun’s ancient Hariphunchai-era temples closer to the provincial capital. Expect a quiet, functioning religious site rather than a polished heritage attraction.

Insider Tip: Visit alongside Wat Phra Phutthabat Huai Tom and the Ban Huai Tom Royal Project — all three sit in the same Na Sai subdistrict and share the same founding monk, so a single trip covers all of them.

The temple is open daily from 07:00 to 17:00 with free entry. Cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes before entering any prayer hall. A car or motorbike is the only practical way in — Li district has no rail service and public transport options are limited.