The Ancient City of Chiang Mai a Historical Wonder

Explore the ancient city of Chiang Mai!

Wiang Kum Kham is the original capital of Chiang Mai and is located just south of the city’s moat and is composed of at least 26 temple ruins and chedis. The ancient ruins showcase over 700 year old Lanna history. Lanna is the original name of this region in Thailand and the ancient city of Chiang Mai was built by the first Lanna king. You can learn more about the historical details here.

It’s a perfect location for history buffs and makes an excellent excursion for school field trips and for home schools looking for activities to do with students.

Keep in mind that you’ll need plenty of time to explore the ancient city ruins as they are spread over a large area. You can take your own transportation to get around, or hire your very own horse drawn guide!

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Take a tour of the original capital city of Chiang Mai

After being rediscovered, the area was declared a historical park in the 1980’s. The ancient ruins aren’t like a typical historical site though. Communities have evolved around the ruins so the temple ruins are mixed in with modern infrastructure. It’s still absolutely stunning to see!

There are a few ways to take a tour of this ancient city in Chiang Mai. First, you may want to start at the Wiang Kum Kam Information Center. Here you can arrange the best mode of transportation for your family or group size.

You can arrange a tour with a horse carriage (200 – 400 baht per carriage). The carriage can hold up to 4 people.
Also, you can take a tour with a tram that has 20 seats. Prices are staggered based on group size: 1-5 people 250 baht, 6-10 people is 300 baht, 11-15 people is 350 baht, or 16-20 people at 400 baht per tram (prices may be different).
At the information center you can also rent bicycles for 20 baht.

Another reason to begin your tour at the information centre, is the Wiang Kum Kham Museum. It was been completely modernized about 2 years ago and is well worth a visit from others reviews. Entrance is supposedly only 10 baht!

This is your best bet on learning accurate history about the ancient city of Chiang Mai.

Alternatively to tour Wiang Kum Kham you can do it on your own! The best way is to ride around on bicycles or motorcycles as the access roads or sois to many of the ruins are too narrow for cars. To do that, we recommend you park first at Wat Chedi Liam.

Wat Chedi Liam is one of the most unique chedis in Chiang Mai. It’s also the tallest structure in the whole area and can be seen from across the river. At this wat or temple, there is plenty of parking. It also another spot where you can hire a horse carriage tour!

We’ve done this a couple of times over the years and it’s so much fun! Kids love it as it’s quite a unique experience. The coach will take you to some, but not all of the temples and will wait while you get out and take photos and explore. However, if you wish to see the temple ruins off the beaten path, a bicycle or motorbike are your best bet.

In total, there are 26 temples to see! Some aren’t even marked properly and you just happen across them. At each temple are informational signage in Thai and English making a visit to Wiang Kum Kham very educational if you are studying or are into history.

Each ruin is not roped off and you can in fact, go down into them, climb on them and imagine what they would have originally looked like. It’s quite a surreal experience.

It is obvious that some temple ruins have been partially restored, however that is usually mentioned on the information plaques. I appreciate the partial reconstruction as it’s not too extreme like what they’ve done with the reconstruction of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

If you or your kids are into photography, there is an almost unlimited supply of amazing objects to photograph. Wiang Kum Kham is full of inspiration and hidden gems!

Also, not every temple is in ruins. Wat Kan Thom is actually quite modern as seen with this gorgeous temple. It’s also a good spot to grab a snack or cool drink.

There’s also an opportunity to leave your mark via a creative donation. Here you can buy a metal leaf and write your names or a nice message on it and either take it with you, or hang it on one of the temple trees. They are quite beautiful and make a chiming noise in the wind when there are a few hanging together.