Wat Chet Yot is my favorite temple in Chiang Mai. It is located outside of the city walls which considerably reduces the amount of wandering tourists. The lush greenery, free-roaming roosters, a vegetable patch, wood-carving shed: all-in-all, Wat Chet Yot looks almost homely. Frankly, it’s worth a visit just to look at the gates. They are magnificent and look like an illustration to some ancient legend or the Indiana Jones movie.
The temple was built in mid 15th century. The design of the main sanctuary, Maha Chedi, was influenced by Indian temples and has 7 spires after which the temple was named (chet yot=seven spires). The temple hosted the Eighth World Buddhist Council in 1477.
The older part of the temple:
More modern and traditional buildings:
Every day life in the monks’ quarters:
More information about temple’s history and architecture:
- Wat Chet Yot by Wikipedia
- Wat Chet Yot by Asian Historical Architecture
More Wat Chet Yot photos on Flickr
Wat Chet Yot on Google Maps
Interesting and beautiful. It looks like it was a pleasure to explore without many visitors.