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7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Chiang Rai, Thailand
North of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai built its visual identity on two radically different temples built by contemporary artists, along with a scattering of tea plantations and hill towns around them.
Sep 24, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Chiang Rai, Thailand's northernmost major city, has built a very different visual identity from its better-known neighbour Chiang Mai, largely through the work of contemporary Thai artists who each built their own temple-scale projects on the city's outskirts. Here are seven of its most photographed spots.
1. Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple
Designed and funded by artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, who began construction in 1997 and continued expanding it until his death in 2023, the all-white temple complex is covered in mirrored glass fragments that catch the light, with a bridge crossing a field of outstretched hands, said to symbolise desire and suffering, leading to the main hall.
2. Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple
Built by Putha Kabkaew, a student of Chalermchai, the vivid blue-and-gold temple takes its name, meaning Temple of the Dancing Tiger, from tigers once said to have roamed the site, and its interior centres on a large white Buddha image set against deep blue walls and murals.
3. Baan Dam, the Black House
A very different project by the late artist Thawan Duchanee, Baan Dam is a compound of dark timber pavilions filled with animal skins, bones and horns arranged as art installations rather than a conventional museum, intentionally unsettling and one of the more distinctive stops in the region.
4. The Golden Triangle
The point where the Mekong and Ruak rivers meet marks the historic Golden Triangle, the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converging within view of a single riverbank, once notorious for opium production and now a popular viewpoint with boats available for closer river trips.
5. Choui Fong Tea Plantation
Rolling tiers of tea bushes climbing the hills toward the Myanmar border, Choui Fong's terraces are at their most photogenic in the early morning mist, with an on-site café built to look out directly over the plantation.
6. Singha Park
A large working estate combining tea and strawberry fields with open parkland and cycling routes, Singha Park's wide green terraces and photogenic gates draw a steady stream of visitors on bicycles and open-air trams.
7. Doi Mae Salong
A hill town settled by Kuomintang soldiers who left China after 1949, Doi Mae Salong retains a distinct Yunnanese character, from its tea plantations to its architecture, and draws visitors for its pink cherry-blossom-like sakura trees during the cool season between December and February.
Traveller tips
- Chiang Rai has its own airport with domestic connections; many visitors also arrive by road from Chiang Mai, roughly a three-hour drive.
- Wat Rong Khun, the Blue Temple and Baan Dam all sit within a short distance of the city centre and can be combined in a single day.
- The cool season, November to February, brings the clearest skies and the cherry blossom bloom at Doi Mae Salong.
- Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is expected at all of Chiang Rai's temples, including the White and Blue Temples.
Where this is
Chiang Rai, Thailand