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ThailandDescription and is it worth a visit
Wiang Kum Kam. This is the remains of an ancient city built by King Mengrai the Great, the founder of the kingdom of Lanna as its capital. The city was the first capital of the kingdom, but due to frequent floods during the flooding of the Ping River, it was abandoned and a new city of Chiang Mai was built, where the capital was moved. It has only recently been restored and opened to the public.
Wiang Kum Kam is located on the outskirts of modern Chiang Mai, 7 kilometers from the city center and is an open-air archaeological museum, and free of charge. You will definitely like it here if you are a lover of antiquities, history and archeology, and especially after you get pretty tired of the endless string of Chiang Mai temples. Although there will not be temples here either, since a considerable part of the complex is represented by the ruins of the ancient temples of Wat Ku Pa Dom, Wat Chang Kham, Wat Chedi Liam, Wat E-Khang, Wat Ku Magluer and others.
The territory of the ruins complex is quite large, and there is no as such bounded by a fence and designated territory. Ruins and temples are located right between residential buildings and households at a great distance from each other, it is impossible to move between them on foot. Moreover, in our opinion, it is not even possible to single out any particular most interesting or central part to visit. So the best option would be to come here by rented car or motorbike. If this is not possible, then you can buy here on the spot a 45-minute tour of the ancient city in a horse-drawn carriage or in a walking electric car for 300. You can also rent a bike here for 50 baht and explore the ruins as much as you want without time limit.
Acquaintance with Wiang Kum Kam is best to start with the information center of the ancient complex. In it you can get a detailed route and map, as well as visit an exhibition about the history of the city for a symbolic 10 baht. Bicycle rental and the above-mentioned tours by carts and electric vehicles are also available here. It is not necessary to follow the route, it is designed simply as a recommendation and includes the most interesting ruins of the ancient city, but not all. If you arm yourself with a smartphone with downloaded applications of "folk" OSM maps, Maps.me , Organic Maps and the like, then you will find a bunch more places that are not marked on the map of the information center.
🕐 Working hours
Access to the ruins is possible around the clock, it is better to visit during the day.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price
Access to the ruins is free, entrance to the museum in the information center is 100 baht (approximately 3.06 USD, see the currency of Thailand and the exchange rate), a tour by carriage or electric car – 300 baht (approximately 9.19 USD).
🚶 How to get there
The ancient city of Wiang Kum Kam occupies part of the outskirts of modern Chiang Mai, 7 kilometers from the center (Wiang Kum Kam on the map). Regular songteo minibuses from the old town do not go here, at least we could not find such. Therefore, you need to get there by rented transport, tuk-tuk or taxi, a one-way trip will cost from 150 baht. It is better to order a taxi through the Grab, Maxim, Bolt applications. Learn more about Chiang Mai transport and how to use it here...
As such, there is no territory with ruins and temples here, they are scattered over a large area in residential areas between houses and households. It is best to come to the Information Center first (Wiang Kum Kam Information Center on the map), where you can get initial information about the city and visit the museum exhibition. Here you can also buy a city tour in a carriage or in an electric car for 300 baht, or rent a bicycle for 50 baht. If you arrive by your rented transport, you can inspect it.
Friends, we remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Thailand with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at options with online booking and reviews on these excursion aggregators: