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This is the second-most important temple (Th Pha Kong) in the city after Wat Phra That Chae Haeng. The founding date is unknown, but the main wí·hhn, reconstructed in 1458, has a huge seated Buddha image and faint murals that have been partially recovered. (Sometime in the mid-20th century an abbot reportedly ordered the murals to be whitewashed because he thought they were distracting worshippers from concentrating on his sermons!)

Also in the wí·hhn is a set of Lanna-period scrolls inscribed (in Lanna script) not only with the usual Buddhist scriptures but with the history, law and astrology of the time. A tam·mâht (a ‘dhamma seat’ used by monks when teaching) sits to one side.

The chedi behind the wí·hhn dates to the 14th century, probably around the same time as the temple was founded. It features elephant supports similar to those seen in Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai.

Next to the chedi is a small, undistinguished bòht from the same era. Wat Chang Kham’s current abbot tells an interesting story involving the bòht and a Buddha image that was once kept inside. According to the abbot, in 1955 art historian AB Griswold offered to purchase the 145cm-tall Buddha inside the small bòht. The image appeared to be a crude Sukhothai-style walking Buddha moulded of plaster. After agreeing to pay the abbot 25,000B for the image, Griswold began removing the image from the bòht – but as he did it fell and the plaster around the statue broke away to reveal an original Sukhothai Buddha of pure gold underneath. Needless to say, the abbot made Griswold give it back, much to the latter’s chagrin. Did Griswold suspect what lay beneath the plaster? The abbot refuses to say. The image is now kept behind a glass partition in the hr rai (Tripitaka library) adjacent to the wí·hhn, the largest of its type in Thailand.

OTHER TEMPLES

Wat Hua Khuang, located diagonally opposite Wat Phra That Chang Kham features a distinctive Lanna/Lan Xang–style chedi with four Buddha niches, an attractive wooden hr rai and a noteworthy bòht with a Luang Prabang–style carved wooden veranda. Inside is a carved wooden ceiling and a huge naga altar. The temple’s founding date is unknown, but stylistic cues suggest this may be one of the city’s oldest wát.

Reportedly established in 1456, Wat Suan Tan (Th Suan Tan) features an interesting 15th-century chedi that combines prang (Hindu/Khmer-style chedi) and lotus-bud motifs of obvious Sukhothai influence. The heavily restored wí·hhn contains an early Sukhothai-style bronze sitting Buddha.

Activities

TREKKING & RAFTING

Nan has nothing like the organised trekking industry found in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, and most visitors, particularly Thais, opt to float rather than walk. White-water rafting along Mae Nam Wa, in northern Nan, is only possible when the water level is high (September to January), and is said to be best during the early part of the rainy season. The rapids span from level I to IV, and pass through intact jungle and remote villages.

Eskimo Roll (08 3902 6111; www.kayakraft.com; 40/1 Th Norkham; 2 days & 1 night per person 3900B, 3 days & 2 nights per person 4500B), run by the amicable Mr Boy, conducts two- to three-day, all-inclusive, rafting and/or kayaking trips.

Fhu Travel (0 5471 0636, 08 1287 7209; www.fhutravel.com; 453/4 Th Sumonthewarat; 2-person min, per person ‘soft’ trek 1 day 1200-1500B, 2 days & 1 night 2700B, 3 days & 2 nights 3500B) offers treks to Mabri, Hmong, Mien, Thai Lü and Htin villages, and can also arrange elephant trekking, cycling tours and city tours. The operators have been leading tours for more than 20 years.

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THE MURALS OF WAT PHUMIN

Wat Phumin is northern Thailand’s Sistine Chapel, and the images on its walls are now found on everything from knick-knacks at Chiang Mai’s night bazaar to postcards sold in Bangkok. However, despite the happy scenes depicted, the murals were executed during a period that saw the end of Nan as a semi-independent kingdom. This resulted in several examples of political and social commentary manifesting