Thai Wat - Wat Phrathat Doi Kham

Wat Phrathat Doi Kham, the Temple of the Golden Mountain, is a beautiful Thai Wat with a spectacular view over the city of Chiang Mai. Wat Phrathat Doi Kham is an older Temples than Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai’s best known Thai Temple. Built over 1300 years ago, Wat Phrathat Doi Kham eventually became abandoned. In 1966 when the old Chedi collapsed after heavy rain, many Buddha images were discovered by local villagers and this lead to the restoration of Wat Phrathat Doi Kham.

Wat Phrathat Doi Kham is located in the Mae Hia district on the outskirts of Chiang Mai.

There is an ancient Legend attached to Wat Phrathat Doi Kham. A long time ago, the hills around the area of the Temple were inhabited by the Lawa people who were thought to be cannibals. When the Lord Buddha visited Chiang Mai, two of these Lawa people, the legend calls them Guants, Pu Sae and Yaa Sae, brother and sister, tried to eat him. The Lord Buddha treated them with kindness and persuaded them to stop eating human flesh. Before the Buddha left, he gave them a hair from his head as a relic.

Pu Sae and Yaa Sae now dwell in the hills around Chiang Mai as Guardian Spirits of the city. A shrine to Pu Sae And Yaa Sae can be seen at the foot of the road leading to Wat Phrathat Doi Kham.

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