Built in 1383 by King Nu Naone’s order, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a must-see spot in Thailand. The temple is a scared place for Thai people and said to preserve a holy relic. Whether it’s true or not, the 22 metres gold-covered Chedi of the temple is no doube the most precious Buddhist construction in Thailand and is quite popular among foreign tourists.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is a Theravada Buddhist temple located 15 kilometres from Chiang Mai city. It is seated on Doi Suthep Mountain and often referred to as Doi Suthep by Thai people.

It is said that over 600 years ago, a monk from Sukhothai whose name was Sumanathera once had a vision about a holy relic, shoulder bone of Buddha. Because of the vision, he took a long journey to the place where he saw the relic shown and found the precious bone there.

Apparently, for its legendary background, the holy relic contains mysterious magical power. It can move, glow and be invisible. The monk tried to dedicate it to King Dharmaraja, ruler of Khmer empire. Yet, when the relic was shown to the king, it didn’t show any power to the king. Dharmaraja started to doubt the truthfulness of the relic and refused to accept the bone, while another king, King Nu Naone of the Lanna Kingdom, asked Sumanathera to take it to him. In 1368, the holy bone of Buddha was transported to Lanna Kingdom, which is Lamphun now. There, the bone automatically split into two pieces; one remained the original size of the relic, another was a little bit smaller and enshrined in a temple in Suandok. The bigger relic was placed in a stupa settled on the back of a white elephant. Legend has it that the elephant climbed on the top of Doi Suthep with the relic on its back and trumpeted three times before died there. Then, King Nu Naone ordered the construction of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

In the beginning, there was only a 5 metres high pagoda in the temple. After hundreds of years extensions and restorations, the temple became one of the largest temple complex in Thailand and a scared place for many Thai people. A road leads to the temple was built in 1935; it is a long path contains 309 step. Visitors who come to the temple need to dressed properly and take off their shoes before get inside.