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Thailand Travel - Sightseeing tours Chiang Mai - Chiang Mai City and Temples Private Tour.
Your private guide can give you a greater insight into today's touring. The
city of Chiang Mai has a wealth of beautiful and historic Buddhist Wats
(temples), 36 Wats within the old city walls and many more in the surrounding
countryside, and on this private tour a visit to the most fascinating Wats is
made.
Near the summit of Doi Suthep, a 5300 feet peak named after the hermit
Sudeva who lived on the mountain’s slopes for many years, is the 600 year old
temple of WAT PHRATHAT DOI SUTHEP. Phrathat Doi Suthep is a large golden
pagoda in the center of the temple. Inside the cloister is an intriguing
copper-plated chedi topped by a five-tier gold parasol, which contains partial
relics of Lord Buddha. After a drive up the mountain’s winding road, the final
climb to the site is via an enormous mythological Nagas (Dragon-headed
serpent) staircase of 306 steps. Inside the cloister is an intriguing
copper-plated chedi topped by a five-tier gold parasol, which contains partial
relics of Lord Buddha. On a clear day, there are incomparable views over the
city of Chiang Mai from the temple grounds.
Other temples visited on this tour include WAT SUAN DOK whose large central
stupa contains Buddha relic which supposedly self-multiplied! One of these
relics was mounted on the back of a white elephant which was allowed to wander
until it chose a site on which a wat could be built to shelter the relic. The
elephant climb up Doi Suthep, stopping twice. After three days the elephant
finally reached a level piece of ground, circled three times, knelt down and
then died at a spot on Doi Suthep, where Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep was built!
WAT CHEDI LUANG consist of an impressive chedi, originally built in 1411.
It reached a height of over 278 feet before it was partially destroyed by an
earthquake in 1545. It now reaches a height of 196 feet. The temple also
contains the city pillar. Statue in small shelters surrounding this building
are the home of guardian spirits.
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