Most people arrive in Chiang Rai for the White Temple. The ones who stay an extra hour usually end up at Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple, a few kilometres north of the city centre on the far bank of the Kok River. It is smaller, younger and far less crowded than its famous neighbour, and the colour alone makes the detour worth it: deep sapphire walls, gold trim on every edge, and a pearl-white Buddha that seems to glow against all that blue.
Entry is free and the temple is open every day from 7am to 8pm, which makes it one of the easiest stops to fit into a Chiang Rai itinerary.
The name comes from the land, not the building. Long before the temple was rebuilt, this stretch of riverside was thick forest, and villagers say tigers used to leap across the stream that cut through it. Rong means a channel or ditch, suea is tiger and ten is to dance or jump, so locals called the area "the ditch where the tigers dance". The village kept the name, and so did the temple.
Today the tigers are long gone, but you will still spot them in the stucco work around the grounds.
An older temple stood here once. By the time villagers decided to bring it back in 1996, it had been abandoned for decades and little was left beyond crumbling brick. Work on the new temple began on 27 October 2005, and the main hall was finished on 22 January 2016, eleven years later.
The man behind the design is Phuttha Kabkaew, a Chiang Rai artist known locally as Salanok (sala is the northern Thai word for a master craftsman). He learned his trade working alongside Chalermchai Kositpipat on Wat Rong Khun, and you can see the influence straight away: the same flame-like edges, the same love of detail. Kabkaew also drew on the work of the late Chiang Rai artist Thawan Duchanee, which gives the Blue Temple a darker, more mythical feel than the White Temple's dreamlike white.
Why blue? The most common explanation is that the colour stands for the Dharma, the Buddha's teaching, and its depth and calm. Whatever the reason, it is the detail everyone remembers.
The main hall is about 13 metres wide and 48 metres long, covered almost entirely in blue with gold details. Two large nagas guard the front steps, their scaled bodies running down the staircase. Unlike the ubosot at the White Temple, you can walk inside and sit down, so take a moment before you start taking photos.
Inside sits the temple's principal Buddha image, Phra Phuttha Ratcha Mongkhon Bodi Trailokanat, 6.5 metres tall with a lap width of 5 metres. Its pale, almost translucent finish is what makes the interior so striking. According to local accounts, tens of thousands of small Phra Rod Lamphun amulets were placed inside the statue during its construction.
Look up. The ceiling is a field of blue and gold patterns, with star-like mandalas framing the hall, and the walls carry murals of the Buddha's life painted in a modern, slightly surreal style. It is easy to spend twenty minutes in here just picking out details.
Walk around to the back of the hall. A large white Buddha statue stands in the garden, and behind it rises Phra That Ket Kaew Chulamani, a stupa around 20 metres high that houses relics of the Buddha given by the late Supreme Patriarch. With the sky behind it, the blue and gold of the stupa is the shot most visitors leave with.
Blue nagas, guardian figures and the occasional tiger are dotted all around the compound. Many are worth a closer look; the craftsmanship in the scales and faces is remarkable for work this recent.
Opening hours: Daily, 7:00am to 8:00pm
Entrance fee: Free (donations welcome)
Address: 306 Moo 2, Maekok Road, Rim Kok, Mueang Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai 57100
Time needed: 45 minutes to an hour
Dress code: Cover shoulders and knees; remove shoes before entering the hall
The Blue Temple sits in Rim Kok subdistrict, north of the Kok River and around 3 km from Chiang Rai's clock tower. There is no regular public transport here, so most visitors come by Grab, tuk-tuk or songthaew from town (around 10 to 15 minutes), or by scooter. It is in a residential area and not visible from the main road, so follow the map rather than looking for signs.
If you are doing Chiang Rai's "temple triangle" in one day, a sensible loop is the White Temple first (about 13 km south of the city), then the Black House (Baan Dam) to the north, and the Blue Temple on your way back into town.
Go early or late. Tour groups from Chiang Mai tend to arrive late morning. Around 7–9am or after 4pm the light is softer and the hall is quieter.
Bring a sarong or scarf. Cover-ups are sometimes available at the entrance, but don't count on it.
Combine it with the White Temple. Seeing both on the same day shows how one artist's ideas were carried on and changed by his student.
Be respectful inside. This is an active temple. Keep voices down, don't point your feet at the Buddha, and ask before photographing monks.
Leave time for the back garden. Many visitors photograph the front and leave; the stupa and garden Buddha are behind the hall.
Visiting the White Temple too? Read our Wat Rong Khun (White Temple) visitor guide.
Photo credits: Chainwit. via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Nina R from Africa via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0); Welcome to Thailand via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
The 48-metre main hall in deep blue and gold, guarded by two nagas. You can walk inside.
Phra Phuttha Ratcha Mongkhon Bodi Trailokanat, 6.5 metres tall, the centrepiece of the hall.
Blue and gold star patterns overhead and modern murals of the Buddha's life on the walls.
A 20-metre stupa holding Buddha relics, with a large white Buddha statue in the garden behind the hall.
306 Moo 2, Maekok Road, Tambon Rim Kok, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand
Directions
Nakkerd Hill, Soi Yot Sane 1, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket, Thailand
414 Moo 13, Tambon Nang Lae, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand
60 Moo 1, Pa O Don Chai, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai 57000, Thailand
