Wat Pa Dad

Wat Pa Dad — more commonly written Wat Pa Daet — is a working Lanna Buddhist temple in Mae Chaem district, Chiang Mai, founded around 1857. Its main wihan is over 200 years old, built as a single teak hall with no interior pillars, and entry is free with no fixed closing gate, roughly 06:00-18:00 daily.

The temple’s original name was Wat Mai Mueang Mae Chaem, or Wat Nuea (“north temple”), paired historically with Wat Tai (“south temple,” now Wat Yang Luang) on the other side of town. Its centrepiece, Wihan Luang Lai Kham, was completed and formally celebrated in 1885 — the open-hall, pillarless design is the detail worth knowing before you visit, since it’s unusual even among northern Thai temples known for elaborate wooden joinery. Inside, wall murals depict significant Lanna-era Buddha images rather than generic Jataka scenes, and the principal Buddha statue, known locally as Luang Pho Ta Wan, sits at the front of the open hall. Elsewhere in the compound, Ho Phra Phetch Kammathan is a separate meditation hall built entirely from teak imported from Myanmar — a distinct structure from the main wihan, used specifically for meditation practice rather than general worship.

A third building, painted red in Lanna style and raised on a stone platform, houses a Ganesha shrine — the image is known as Uttara Sri Ganapati, “the one who grants success to the north,” and draws a steady stream of its own visitors independent of the main temple traffic. Morning is the quietest and most active time, with monks visible around the grounds before the day’s heat sets in.

Insider Tip: Don’t stop at the main wihan and assume you’ve seen the temple — the Burmese-teak meditation hall and the red Ganesha shrine are separate buildings elsewhere in the compound, easy to miss on a quick pass-through.

Watch out: Wat Pa Dad sits in Mae Chaem district of Chiang Mai province, not Mae Sariang in Mae Hong Son — the two share a similar-sounding name but are roughly two hours apart by road. Confirm your route before setting out.

Most visitors reach Mae Chaem by driving down from Chiang Mai via Hot, on a mountain road that also passes close to Ob Luang National Park — a river gorge worth building into the same day trip if you’re already making the drive. There’s no direct public transport into Mae Chaem town beyond irregular local songthaew and minivan services, so a rental car or motorbike is the more reliable option, especially if you want to fit in both the temple and the gorge before dark.