Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

The climb

The way up is 309 steps beside the longest Naga rail in Thailand

From the car park at the base, visitors climb 309 steps to the pagodas, or take a tram. The steps are lined by the longest Naga balustrade in Thailand. At the top, the first thing to see is a white elephant statue, which recalls the story behind where the temple stands. Some walk up from the city on the Monk's Trail.

The elephant

A white elephant chose the spot, according to the legend

A monk named Sumanathera found a bone that many claim was the Buddha's shoulder bone. In the legend, half of the relic was placed on the back of a white elephant and released into the jungle. The elephant climbed the mountain, trumpeted three times and dropped dead. King Kue Na took this as an omen and ordered a temple built on the site.

The chedi

The gold chedi is the most holy part of the grounds

The original gold plated chedi is the most holy area of the temple grounds. Its tiers stand for the levels of heaven that one must ascend to reach Nirvana. The shoulder bone relic is said to lie in the rounded portion, above the octagonal base and below the ringed section.

24 metersthe height of the gold plated chedi

The pilgrims

The mountain draws a steady stream of pilgrims

The temple is considered one of the most sacred pilgrimage spots in Thailand, because of its relic and because Chiang Mai was the centre of the Lanna Kingdom in the 14th century. It can get 120,000 visitors per month, with more on holidays. On Visakha Bucha Day, local people climb the mountain and sleep on the esplanade of the temple.

120,000visitors a month at the temple

The cable car

In the 1980s, a plan for a cable car was scrapped

A road to the temple was first built in 1935, overseen by the monk Khruba Siwichai. In the 1980s there was talk of a cable car instead, and it raised a question: would it take away from the pilgrimage itself? The government and the locals battled long and hard, and the locals rallying support led to the plan being scrapped.