Guide · Wat Rong Khun

White Temple Chiang Rai: a visitor's guide to Wat Rong Khun

White Temple Chiang Rai is an artist's vision in white and silver, full of symbols and surprises. Here is what you are looking at, what it costs, what to wear and how to get there.

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Editorial team, chiang-rai-tour.comUpdated October 27, 20266 minutes to read32 sources

On this topic: the tour Chiang Mai:Chiang Rai White Temple, Blue and Red Temple Tour 4.7 (4,591 reviews) 12 to 13 hours from$37per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer before you go

01What it is: An old temple transformed by the artist Chalermchai Kositpipat from the end of the 1990s.¹
02Where: On Highway 1, 15 km from Chiang Rai city centre.²
03Entrance fee: Two listings give it as 200 THB; many tours include it in their price.
04Dress: Sleeves and covered knees, and shoes off inside the halls.³ ⁴
05Time to allow: Tours give it about an hour, which is enough for a first look.

What the White Temple is, and who made it

Wat Rong Khun began as an ordinary temple. The Tourism Authority of Thailand describes it as an old structure taken over at the end of the 1990s by the local artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, and the Thailand Foundation calls it a once small temple renovated by a national artist from the province.¹ ⁵ What stands there now is his life's work rather than a restored antique.

TAT reports that he spent over one billion baht on the transformation, and that the whole exterior is white and silver.⁶ Its art guide calls Wat Rong Khun a masterpiece of National Artist Chalermchai Kositpipat and also an open art gallery of his sculpture and murals.⁷ So it is both a working Buddhist temple and a gallery, and visitors should treat it as the first.

Airports of Thailand puts the idea simply: the white ordination hall grew from Ajarn Chalermchai's wish to build a temple like a heavenly city that people could experience.⁸ Keep that image in mind as you walk in. Everything, from the colour to the shapes on the roof, is meant to lead you from the world outside towards something purer.

A walk through

One way round Wat Rong Khun

Arrival

The pond and facade

Start with the white and silver exterior across the water.⁶
The bridge

Cross towards the hall

The bridge into the ubosot stands for the cycle of rebirth.⁹
Inside

The murals

Lanna and Thai motifs beside heroes from films and pop music.¹⁰ ¹¹
Outside again

The golden building

TAT recommends the decorated lavatories behind its gold facade.¹²
Last

The grounds

Pavilions and railings around the pond, some still under construction.¹³

Reading the temple: the bridge, the hands and the murals

You reach the main ubosot over a bridge that, as TAT explains, stands for the cycle of rebirth, and the building is decorated with creatures from Thai and Buddhist mythology.⁹ Below the bridge, sculpted hands reach up from a pit, a scene many read as desire and suffering. Walk slowly, keep to the flow of people, and save your photos for the far side.

Inside, the murals mix the traditional and the shocking. TAT says they blend Lanna and Thai motifs with contemporary figures to speak about meditation, the fight between good and evil and the teaching of the Buddha.¹⁰ Spiderman, Neo from the Matrix and Michael Jackson appear beside demons from the Ramayana and images of the Buddha.¹¹

These pop images are not a joke at the visitor's expense. They put today's heroes and villains into an old story, so the questions it asks feel current. Ask before you photograph inside the hall, take your time looking rather than shooting, and ask your guide to point out details you might otherwise miss.

Heat and rain

Chiang Rai's months, for planning your visit

Hours without sunDays with precipitationSeason

Sunless hours are our own mid-month figure; rain days of 2.5 mm and up come from NOAA station TH000048303, 3.2 km from Chiang Rai city, 1991 to 2020.³²

Tours that stop here

Time at Wat Rong Khun on the main tours

Tour	Starts in	From	Time at temple	Fee included
Temple day, 4 languages	Chiang Mai	$37	1 hour	Not stated
Hot spring & temples	Chiang Mai	$33	Not stated	Yes
Private trip	Chiang Mai	$149	60 min	Yes
7 sites, all tickets	Chiang Rai	$68	1 hour	Yes
Bicycle day	Chiang Rai	$61	60 min	Yes

Times and inclusions as each listing states them; from-prices change, so the booking page has the binding figure.

See it on a tour

Three ways to reach the White Temple

Recommended

From Chiang Mai

Temples, 4 guide languages

From: $37
At the temple: 1 hour
Reviews: 4,591

See this tour

Chiang Mai:Chiang Rai White, Blue & Red Temple & Karen Tribe

Most reviewed

The classic day

Hot spring and village too

From: $33
Fee: Included
Reviews: 7,712

See this tour

Chiang Rai: Guided Tour 7 Major Sites & All Tickets Included

Small group

From Chiang Rai

All tickets included

From: $68
At the temple: 1 hour
Reviews: 581

See this tour

Decision helper

How should you visit?

Pick the line that sounds like you.

I am in Chiang Mai for one free day I want the fee paid and no surprises I am staying in Chiang Rai I want to understand the art I hate crowds

A temple day trip

It gives the White Temple 1 hour and adds the Blue and Red Temples.

The classic day

Its price includes the White, Blue and Huay Pla Kang temple fees.

Go early by taxi

The temple is 15 km from the city centre on Highway 1.²

Hire a guide

The murals mix Lanna and Thai motifs with modern figures, and a guide decodes them.¹⁰

Arrive at opening

TAT reported about 10,000 visitors a day.¹⁴

Murals and sculptures blending traditional Lanna and Thai motifs and contemporary figures refer to meditation, the fight between good and evil, and the teaching of Lord Buddha.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT Newsroom)Source 10

The White Temple entrance fee and opening hours

The tour listings are the clearest guide to the fee. The Viator private trip includes the temple's entrance fee and gives it as 200 THB, and one Chiang Rai day tour asks you to bring 200 THB in cash for it. Fees change, so check the board at the gate.

If you visit on a tour, the fee is often already paid. The most booked day trip from Chiang Mai includes the entrance fees for the White Temple, the Blue Temple and Huay Pla Kang Temple, and one Chiang Rai day lists all tickets included. Compare what is included before comparing prices, because the White Temple entrance fee is not always in the headline figure.

TAT's art guide gave the hours as daily from 08:00 to 18:00.² Hours can shift for events and religious days, so treat that as a guide rather than a promise. If you can, arrive soon after opening: the light on the white facade is soft, the courtyards are cooler, and the bridge is easier to cross without a queue.

Map

From Chiang Mai to the temples of Chiang Rai and the Mekong

The road north from Chiang Mai with its stops, then the temples around Chiang Rai and the border country up to the Golden Triangle.

Map of northern Thailand from Chiang Mai past Mae Kachan Hot Spring and Mae Suai to the White Temple, Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle — Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai

Map of Chiang Rai with the White, Blue and Red Temples, Baan Dam, Doi Tung, Mae Sai, Chiang Saen and the Golden Triangle — Around Chiang Rai

1
Chiang Mai
Start of the site tour: meeting points at Burger King Thapae or McDonald's Night Bazaar for the English tour, with pickup on some options.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Mae Kachan Hot Spring
The first stop of the site tour, 1.5 hours by bus from Chiang Mai; visitors soak their feet and boil eggs in separate wells.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
3
Mae Suai
Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan, a 30-minute stop on the private trip, lies in Mae Suai.
In Google Maps ↗
4
White Temple
Wat Rong Khun, 15 km from Chiang Rai city centre on Highway 1.²
In Google Maps ↗
5
Chiang Rai
The provincial capital, with the Saturday walking street on Thanalai Road and the Night Bazaar on Prasopsuk Road.¹⁶ ¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
6
Blue Temple
Wat Rong Suea Ten, at 306 Moo 2, Mae Kok Road in Rim Kok.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
7
Wat Huay Pla Kang
The Guan Yin statue of 69 meters and the 9-story chedi.¹⁹ ²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
8
Baan Dam
Thawan Duchanee's Black House in Nang Lae, open 09.00 to 17.00.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
9
Doi Tung
The Royal Villa at 1,630 metres and the Tree Top Walk in Mae Fah Luang Garden.²² ²³
In Google Maps ↗
10
Golden Triangle
More than 70 km from Chiang Rai city, where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.²⁴ ²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
11
Mae Sai
On TAT's Golden Triangle route from Chiang Rai to Sop Ruak.²⁶
In Google Maps ↗
12
Chiang Saen
The district of the Golden Triangle; the green public bus runs here from Chiang Rai.²⁴
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Ready for Wat Rong Khun

Wear

A top with sleeves, no spaghetti straps
Trousers, shorts or a skirt covering the knees
Shoes or sandals with a back strap

Bring

Cash for the fee if your tour does not include it
Hat, sunscreen and water
A light scarf for covering up

Inside

Shoes off before the hall
Hats and sunglasses off, phone silent
Keep out of the way of people praying

Price check

A White Temple tour for your group

Choose a tour and enter the number of travellers.

Temple dayFrom Chiang Maifrom $37 Classic dayFees includedfrom $33 Seven sitesFrom Chiang Raifrom $68

People 2

Total from$73

per guest from $37

Check availabilityfree cancellation

We multiply each tour's starting price by the number of travellers you enter and convert it at the European Central Bank reference rate; the booking page shows the exact total.

Video

A slow walk through Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple

No video data loads before you press play.

White Temple dress code and how to behave

The White Temple dress code follows the general rules for Thai temples. TAT asks men to wear a shirt with sleeves and long trousers or shorts that cover the knees, and women a skirt longer than knee length and a top with sleeves, not spaghetti straps.³ One day trip that stops here asks guests to wear clothes that cover arms and legs.

Shoes are the norm, and if you wear sandals they should have a strap at the back.²⁷ Anyone entering a temple hall goes barefoot, and shoe racks are found outside.⁴ Most temples have a raised threshold, which you step over rather than on.²⁸

Inside, remove hats and sunglasses, silence your phone and keep your voice down.²⁹ Most temples allow photographs, but TAT reminds visitors that it is rude to get in the way of people who are praying or making a donation.³⁰ Women should not touch a monk or his robes.³¹ A light scarf in your bag solves most dress problems on the spot.

The golden building and the rest of the grounds

The ubosot is the star, but the grounds hold more. A golden building stands out against all the white, and TAT even recommends the lavatories behind its gold facade, which are intricately decorated.¹² Against the white hall, the gold is a striking contrast and worth a photograph of its own.

Work at Wat Rong Khun is not finished. TAT wrote that it will go on until 2070 and invited visitors to donate to the project.¹³ Expect scaffolding or closed corners on any visit, and see that as part of a living artwork rather than a flaw.

Give yourself time to walk around the pond and the smaller pavilions after the main hall. The fish in the water, the carved railings and the views back across the courtyard reward a slow lap. On a tour with a set hour, see the ubosot first and the grounds after, so you are not caught by the meeting time.

Getting there and how long to stay

The temple sits on Highway 1 (Phahonyothin Road), 15 km from Chiang Rai city centre.² From the city you can go by taxi, by ride-hailing car or as part of a tour. From Chiang Mai it is a long drive: one listing gives about 172 km one way, roughly 3 hours each way.

Tours that stop here usually give it an hour. The temple day recommended on this page spends 1 hour at Wat Rong Khun, and so do the Chiang Rai day tours that continue to the Blue Temple and the Golden Triangle. The private trip from Chiang Mai and the bicycle tour both list 60 minutes too.

An hour covers the bridge, the main hall and a short walk. If you love art or photography, visit Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai on your own schedule and give it twice that. Combine it with the Blue Temple and the Guan Yin statue at Wat Huay Pla Kang to make a full temple day around the city.

Crowds, heat and the best time of day

The White Temple is busy. TAT reported about 10,000 visitors a day, over two million a year.¹⁴ Day trips from Chiang Mai spend hours on the road before they arrive, so if you are based in Chiang Rai, an early or late visit puts you out of step with them.

Heat is the other challenge, because white surfaces reflect the sun. In Chiang Rai city April averages a high of 34.6 °C, while January averages 28.6 °C with cool mornings.³² Carry water, wear a hat outside and plan your walk so you are not crossing the open courtyard at midday.

In the rainy months the courtyard can be slippery and the light grey, but the crowds are often thinner and the white stands out against dark clouds. August is the wettest month, with 374 mm of rain on average.³² A compact umbrella and grippy sandals with a back strap make a wet visit easy.

Your temple day