Sunday 26 January 2025
Hiking to Wat Umong via Wat Suan Dok

After crossing the hectic canal road, like a divided highway, I found a route to Wat Umong through the smaller and less busy sois instead of the main roads. I arrived at Wat Umong from Wat Suan Dok in a respectable 45 minutes.

Wat Umong

Wat Umong is located south of Chiang Mai University in deep woodland near the base of Doi Suthep mountain. It was built in 1297 by King Mengrai, the founder of Chiang Mai. The temple is famous for its tunnels and the remains of 13th-century frescoes on the walls.

From the sign it is a walk of a few hundred meters through the forest and past a couple of parking areas to get to the actual temple grounds. There is also a meditation center here where multiple-day silent meditations can be done. [Nearby Wat Rampoeng is much more well-known as a meditation center.]

Wat Umong is very busy today with many tourists, so I made a little diversion down to the lake to have a quiet moment before proceeding to the actual temple and saw a large frog sitting on a floating log.

The main attraction at Wat Umong are the tunnels. The tunnels were built by King Kawila in the 18th century and painted with rural scenes. It is written that this was to keep a wayward monk from wandering into the forest. The frescoes are so greatly deteriorated that almost nothing remains to be seen of them. Here I am at the entrance of one of the tunnels, and then inside a tunnel.

Small Buddha shrines have been placed at various points in the tunnels for worshipers.

At the back of the tunnels, there are stairs leading up to the chedi. The chedi is built in the Sukhothai style with a circular base and several rounded layers which rise to support the bell structure. There are no niches or Buddha figures. I love this chedi with its rustic character.

Returning to the tunnels, the stairs inside the tunnel are echoed in the ceiling, in interesting effect. On my way out through a different tunnel, I passed another Buddha image for worshippers.

I left Wat Umong for the 5 kilometer walk back to See You Soon. Still close to Wat Umong, I saw this beautiful tree along the way, brightening my already good mood.

It is a long walk to See You Soon, and a cooler day so rather than getting a ride, I walked all the way. Another very good day in Chiang Mai.

Next: Miscellaneous pictures.