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The legend
A white elephant is said to have chosen the site
A relic said to be the Buddha's shoulder bone broke in two in 1368. The smaller piece went to Wat Suan Dok. The other was set on a white elephant, which climbed the mountain and trumpeted three times. The king took this as an omen and ordered a temple built.
Founding
The first stupa is said to date from 1383, and the temple has grown since
The temple is said to have been founded in 1383 when the first stupa was built. Over time it has expanded, with many more holy shrines added. A road to the temple was first built in 1935.
The road
A monk who oversaw the road in 1935 became a symbol of northern freedom
Khruba Siwichai oversaw the building of the road in 1935. He spoke against the plan to bring northern Buddhist leaders under a national order and became a symbol of northern freedom. In the 1980s a proposed cable car caused a huge debate.
The stairs
309 steps lined by the longest naga balustrade in Thailand lead up
From the car park visitors can climb 309 steps to reach the pagodas, or take a tram. The steps are lined by the longest naga balustrade in Thailand. At the top stands a white elephant statue recalling the story behind the temple's placement.
309steps from the car park to the pagodas
The chedi
The gold plated chedi rises 24 meters over half of a shoulder bone
The chedi towers 24 meters and is gold plated. The relic is said to sit in its rounded portion, above the octagonal section. The tiered chatra at the top came from two centuries of Burmese occupation.
Day 6, afternoon
It comes after Wat Umong.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.