Discover with Timothy

Lampang ลำปาง , Thailand

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Discover Lampang, Thailand, with Timothy TyeDiscover Lampang, Thailand, with Timothy Tye (23 December, 2002)


Lampang ลำปาง is the third largest city in northern Thailand after Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The city is located in the valley of the Wang River and is the provincial capital of Lampang Province.

Lampang was originally a settlement of Mon people from southern Burma. It was settled as early as the 7th century. In the early part of its history, Lampang was known as Khelang Nakhon and Lakhon. During the rise of the Haripunchai kingdom (circa AD 750-1292), Lampang was part of the kingdom centred around the city of Lamphun nearby.

During medieval times, the city of Lampang was protected by a city wall as well as four defence fortresses, or wiang, placed at strategic locations. Nonetheless in 1296 it fell to the troops of King Mangrai, founder of Chiang Mai.

In the 19th century, British traders arriving from Burma turned it into a center for producing teakwood. Laborers from Myanmar were brought in, which result in many Burmese-style houses and temples now found in Lampang.

Visitors to Lampang will get to view many well-preserved wats which, unlike those in Chiang Mai, has not been marred by modern development. Many of the beautiful wats of Lampang are described in this guide.

Travel to Lampang

You can reach Lampang by train either from Bangkok or Chiang Mai. The journey from Bangkok will consume 10 to 12 hours. An air-conditioned sleeper ticket fare is around ฿800. From Chiang Mai, it takes about 2 hours and costs ฿100.

You can also take a bus from Bangkok's Mo Chit bus terminal. A first-class air condition bus fare is around ฿450 and takes 8-9 hours to reach Lampang. From Chiang Mai, the bus journey takes about 1.5 hours and costs ฿80.

Travel within Lampang

As with most towns in Thailand, you can hail down a tuk tuk to take you places. If you find a good one, then negotiate for the whole day.

Map of Lampang

Sights in Lampang on the map


  1. Big C Supercenter (GPS: 18.2755, 99.48119)

  2. CentralPlaza Lampang (GPS: 18.28203, 99.49462)

  3. Chokchai Market (GPS: 18.28127, 99.47367)

  4. Dhababadee Ceramic Museum (GPS: 18.28026, 99.51262)

  5. Hang Chat Arboretum (GPS: 18.32297, 99.29437)

  6. Lampang Airport (GPS: 18.27799, 99.50629)

  7. Lampang Provincial Court (GPS: 18.2572, 99.54646)

  8. Lampang Provincial Government Center (GPS: 18.25773, 99.54456)

  9. Makro Lampang (GPS: 18.27491, 99.48447)

  10. Nakhon Lampang Railway Station (GPS: 18.27978, 99.47294)

  11. Pho Chao Thip Chang Monument (GPS: 18.28762, 99.51491)

  12. Sop Tui Post Office (GPS: 18.28118, 99.47401)

  13. Tesco Lotus Lampang (GPS: 18.28016, 99.4931)

  14. Thailand Elephant Conservation Center (GPS: 18.35477, 99.24314)

  15. Wat Chai Mongkol (GPS: 18.28282, 99.50558)

  16. Wat Chong Kham (GPS: 18.28094, 99.51274)

  17. Wat Mon Chamsin (GPS: 18.28053, 99.51603)

  18. Wat Sop Tui (GPS: 18.2806, 99.46005)

  19. Wat Sri Chum (GPS: 18.28443, 99.49974)

  20. Wat Thab Mak (GPS: 18.29267, 99.46107)

  21. Wat Thung Ku Dai (GPS: 18.29464, 99.4304)

Places of Interest in Lampang


  1. Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao
    The main temple in Lampang. It housed the Emerald Buddha (now at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok) between 1436 to 1468.

  2. Wat Suchadaram
    Temple located within the same outer enclosure as Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao.

  3. Wat Hua Khuang
    Monastery that was located on the right side of the Wang River, to the north of the original town square.

  4. Wat Saeng Muang Ma
    The most important wat in Lampang for ritual practice.

  5. Wat Si Lom
    Temple with a tree shrine guarded by a pair of fierce-looking monster guardians.

  6. Ku Ya Sudha
    Ruins of what could have been a huge temple. Its name means "Grandmother Sudha's Grotto".

  7. Ban Sao Nak
    The name means "House of Many Pillars". This structure from the 19th century was built for a Burmese family.

  8. Wat Pratu Pong
    The name of this temple means "Marsh Gate Monastery". It is located a short distance from ban Sao Nak.

  9. Wat Pong Sanuk Tai
    The name of this temple literally translates as "Monastery of the Southern Fun Marsh". Built in the late 18th century, it reflects elements of Lanna and Burmese styles.

  10. Wat Ka Teuk
    Another Buddhist temple, its smaller viharn has a traditional Lanna-style roof.

Sights outside the Old City of Lampang


  1. Wat Chedi Sao
    Temple, whose name means "Twenty-Chedi Monastery", with numerous whitewashed chedis with golden tops.

  2. Wat Pa Fang
    A Shan-style monastery with an impressive interior and two huge Mandalay-style Buddha statues.

  3. Wat Sri Chum
    Another Burmese-style monastery to the west of Wat Pa Fang.

  4. Wat Mon Cham Sin
    Wat with three Burmese-style chedis.

  5. Wat Mon Puyak
    Another Shan-style monastery exhibiting a variety of styles.

  6. Wat Si Rong Muang
    Yet another Burmese-style monastery with several imposing two- to three-tiered gabled superstructure

In the vicinity of Lampang


  1. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang
    A sprawling monastic complex, one of the most important Lanna architecture in the Lampang area.

  2. Wat Pong Yang Khok
    Another important monastery about 8 km from Wat Phra That Lampang Luang.

  3. Wat Lai Hin Kaew Chang Yuan
    The name of this temple means "Monastery of the Standing Elephant with the Stone Shoulder". It is also called simply as Wat Lai Hin.

  4. Wat Phra That Chom Ping
    Temple whose ubosot functions as a camera obscura.

  5. Thai Elephant Conservation Center
    Center operated by the Forest Industry Organisation to train elephants with productive skills. Elephant performances are staged daily.

  6. Elephant Hospital
    A veterinary for injured elephants.

  7. Chae Son National Park
    A lush forested area with hot spring and nice sceneries.

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About this website



Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.

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