Our Thailand family home is located in the mountains northeast of Lampang, an important city in the history of northern Thailand with a population of about 58,000 people. The area of these mountains contains 37 villages with a population of about another 38,000 people. As you drive on the major highway that passes through these mountains, you would not think there could be that many people nearby, as tall trees and jungle mostly block the view of the villages from the highway.  

The economy of these mountain villages is dominated by the largest coal mine in Thailand, which supplies it's lignite coal to a very large power generating plant nearby. Big plans are afoot about these major sources of jobs for the locals since 1978. The future plans are far from being completed. There is a very large and modern museum near the mine itself.  

The Lampang Museum in the heart of Lampang is an outstanding museum for learning about the history of the region. It would be a good starting point for exploring the area. Lampang has been an important trading area, first by way of the river and then from the train line.  Every Saturday night there is a night market in this same trading area, near a historical bridge on the river and the most popular restaurant for locals is in that area too.  

It is said that you haven't been to Lampang until you have taken a ride in one of the many horse drawn carriages that can be found in Lampang and nowhere else in Thailand. It is a great way to see the downtown up close at a pleasant slow pace.  

Important Buddhist temples to visit in Lampang.

• Wat Phra That Lampang Luang - the grand temple of Lampang, mostly built in the 15th century, before Columbus landed in North America, with one building built in the 13th century. Everyone who comes to Lampang must visit this site. Its buildings are thought to be the oldest standing wooden structures in all of Thailand. It is one of the best examples of Lanna style architecture in Thailand. The fortification wall around the temple was built in the 8th century, so the area started out as a frontier area, not as a monastery, and in the early 18th century it was invaded and occupied by Burmese troops, until it was liberated by a local hero. Bullet holes where the Burmese commander was killed can still be seen. The location is actually 18 km southwest of Lampang in Ko Kha. When you visit the Lampang Museum, you will learn that Ko Kha was one of only three places on the planet where a fossil of Homo erectus was found, now effectionately known as Lampang Man. Spend some time reading about this temple before you go there to more fully appreciate what you see when you are there.  
• Wat Phra Kaew Don Tao, the temple famous for having held the most sacred Buddha image in Thailand for 34 years, the Emerald Buddha. There is also a statue of the elephant in the 15th century that insisted upon bringing the Emerald Buddha from Chiang Rai to Lampang, rather than to Chiang Mai. In the end, the Emerald Buddha ended up residing at the Royal Palace in Bangkok. The word emerald refers to the green color of the statue, not to the type of stone from which it was carved.
• Wat Chedi Sao Lang, the temple famous for its 20 white chedis. On Saturdays they also have a building open where local artisans produce beautiful hand-made cloth with a wooden loom. So go on a Saturday and see the loom early in your visit, as they close at 4:30 in the afternoon.
• Wat Phra That Doi Phra Chan has two temples, one in the valley just off the highway in a lovely rural neighborhood and a second one way up the mountain, a hike up 650 concrete steps through the forested mountainside being the way we went. These are very recently built temples, gleaming in gold, very tastefully executed with fantastic views of the large valley of rice fields and mountain ranges in the distance. There is actually a road to the top, which is what we will use next time, as the hike up the stairs is a very rigorous hike, but very much worth the trouble when you see what is there. The drive to the site of the temples is one of the best drives we've taken in Thailand, as the entire valley can be seen most of the way, rather than a highway with tall trees and jungle on both sides of the highway obstructing the view of the homes and the agricultural valley.   
• Wat Chaloem Phre Kiat - while this is a Buddhist temple 800 meters up, on top of a mountain, the experience of it is more like a very rigorous, but safe, mountain climb, most of it up metal steps with metal railings firmly secured to the rock of the mountain, rather than a visit to a temple. We succeeded in making the hike more than four years ago. I had serious concern about whether I would be able to make it all the way, but I made it and I'm glad I did.  Now that I am older, I would not attempt it again. As I was the oldest one in our group, I had the distinct advantage of being able to ride up front with the driver, rather than sitting in back on the bench seats in the songthaew on the very steep and sometimes narrow road up to the starting point for the final walk up to the mountain top. This video is a very good account of the experience of visiting this destination. Note that the numerous white pagodas seen in the video are not accessible along the way on the hike. I would also not encourage anyone to make the hike in the rain. And please be sure to take a water bottle for each hiker, if you go there.  

Other excellent destinations near Lampang follow