Best Temples in Phayao
A Half-Day Temple Route

🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026

If you've only got one day in Phayao and you want more than a few lakeside photos, this three-temple route helps you actually understand this 900-year-old town. All three sit within the city district, and the drive between them runs about 5–15 minutes each. Seeing everything, walking included, takes roughly half a day. It's best done in the morning before the sun gets harsh, leaving you free for a lakeside lunch afterward.

Wat Li — The Wiang Phayao Museum in the Old Town

Wat Li sits inside Wiang Phayao, the gourd-shaped ancient settlement in the middle of town. The name "Li" comes from an old northern word meaning a market, because the temple originally stood in a market neighborhood. The chedi itself is an octagonal stupa built around 1495. It was abandoned for a stretch after Lanna fell to Burma, then restored by the revered monk Khruba Sriwichai sometime between 1920 and 1935.

What sets Wat Li apart from the other temples is the Wiang Phayao Museum. A former abbot gathered antiquities from abandoned temples across Phayao and brought them here, and the museum has been open since 2007. There are sandstone Buddha images, palm-leaf manuscripts, ceramics, and everyday folk objects. Walking through it gives you a clear picture of Phayao in the Lanna era. Start here first, since it's right in the city center.

• Location — Ban Lai Ing, Wiang subdistrict, near Thetsaban 3 School in central Phayao
• Hours — Museum roughly 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; the temple itself is open for prayers all day
• Entry — Free; a donation box for whatever you'd like to give
• Time needed — Museum plus paying respects at the chedi, around 45–60 minutes

Wat Phra That Chom Thong — Hilltop Views Over the Lake

Drive out of town and up Doi Chom Thong, the hill on the north side of the lake — about 10–15 minutes — and you reach Wat Phra That Chom Thong, one of Phayao's landmark temples, sitting right on the summit. The stupa is a golden Lanna-style chedi about 30 meters tall, on a three-tiered square base, with embossed metal panels of the twelve zodiac animals around it. Legend says a strand of the Buddha's hair is enshrined in a cave beneath the hill, which is where the name "Doi Chom Thong" comes from.

The reason Phayao locals love bringing visitors here isn't just the temple — it's the panorama of Kwan Phayao. You see the entire lake spread out, with the Doi Luang range off in the distance. Clear mornings give you the sharpest view, and in the evening it's one of the better spots in town to catch the sunset. There's parking up on the hill, so you don't have to hike up yourself.

• Location — On Doi Chom Thong, north of the lake, about 6–7 km from the city center
• Hours — Open all day for prayers and the viewpoint; best on a clear morning or in the evening
• Entry — Free
• Time needed — Praying plus taking in the view and photos, around 30–45 minutes

Wat Pa Daeng Bun Nak — Quiet Forest Ruins

Wat Pa Daeng Bun Nak sits on the east side of the lake, in Tha Wang Thong subdistrict. It was originally two paired temples — Wat Pa Daeng and Wat Bun Nak. The legend goes that two brothers who ruled Phayao, Lord Atittaraj and Lord Chantharaj, each built their own chedi and enshrined relics of the Buddha in both, and the two were later merged into a single temple. The chedi is Sukhothai-style with a twelve-redented form, different from the Lanna chedis you see all over the rest of the city.

Walk into the temple's forest grounds and you'll come across scattered ruins at several points — Buddha pedestals, the remains of an ordination hall, old wall lines, more than 20 sites in all. The atmosphere is shady and quiet, a contrast to the busier temples in town. This is still an off-the-radar corner that not everyone has been to, better suited to history lovers than to people just after photos. The important old Buddha images, like Luang Pho Nak, have been moved to the National Museum for safekeeping, but the ruins themselves are all still here.

• Location — Tha Wang Thong subdistrict, Mueang Phayao district, east side of the lake
• Hours — Open during daytime; best from mid-morning to early afternoon
• Entry — Free
• Time needed — Walking the ruins, around 30–40 minutes

The Half-Day Temple Route, One Stop to the Next

These three temples sit on different sides of Kwan Phayao, but the drives between them are short. Lay it out starting from the city center, loop up the hill, then drop down to the east side, and you get a route with no backtracking. Here's an easygoing half-day morning timeline.

If you've got more than half a day, add Wat Si Khom Kham (Phra Chao Ton Luang) on the lakefront, the only royal temple in Phayao. It houses Phra Chao Ton Luang, the largest Chiang Saen–style Buddha image in Lanna, with a lap width of 14 meters, plus an ordination hall set over the water with murals by Angkarn Kalayanapong, a National Artist. This temple is in town, so you can stop by either before or after the three-temple route.

Etiquette and What to Bring

• Dress modestly — Skip sleeveless tops and very short shorts; these are old temples where locals come to make merit
• Remove your shoes — Before entering the prayer halls and the museum; barefoot or socks are fine
• Photos are fine — All three allow photography, though some corners of the museum may ask you not to use flash, so check the signs first
• Carry cash — Donate at the boxes as you wish; the shops by the temples mostly take cash