Stand under the broken chedi that held the Emerald Buddha
82 metres, until the earthquake
Wat Chedi Luang stands in the middle of the old city. The chedi was begun in the late 14th century under King Saen Muang Ma and reached roughly 82 metres, the tallest thing in the Lanna kingdom.
Why it's unique
The Emerald Buddha, the single most venerated object in Thailand and now the centrepiece of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, sat in the eastern niche of this chedi for most of a century.
An earthquake in the 1500s brought down the upper section. It has never been restored to height, and the decision not to rebuild is the reason it is worth standing under: you are looking at the actual profile the collapse left, not a reconstruction of what it used to be.
Before you go
Fifty baht for non-Thai visitors, and it rewards an hour to ninety minutes rather than the ten minutes most people give it. Walk the full circuit; the elephants on the southern face are the best surviving original work.
Wat Phan Tao is immediately next door and Wat Phra Singh is a ten minute walk west. Doing the three together is the standard old city morning and it works.
Cover shoulders and knees or you will be turned back at the viharn.