Chiang Mai Temple Circuit & Market Cooking Class

Chiang Mai has more than three hundred temples, dozens of them inside the old city walls. Most visitors see three. This private day with a local guide covers the ones that matter: not by fame but by significance, beauty, and the quality of quiet they offer.

The morning begins before tour groups arrive, at Wat Chedi Luang, the ruined 15th-century chedi where monks will answer questions from visitors between 9 and 11 AM as part of the Monk Chat programme. Your guide provides historical and religious context that transforms the visit from aesthetic to meaningful.

The afternoon shifts register entirely. At the Warorot Market, you select ingredients with your cooking teacher, an aunt from a family that has run a northern Thai restaurant for three generations. Her kitchen in the old city produces dishes that don't appear on tourist menus: khanom jeen nam ngiaw (rice noodles in a rich northern tomato and pork broth), sai oua (herbed Chiang Mai sausage with lemongrass and galangal), and nam prik noom (roasted green chilli dip) eaten with sticky rice and seasonal vegetables.

Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the capital of the Lanna Kingdom, and its temples reflect a distinct northern Thai style, with tiered roofs, carved wooden gables and stucco guardians. The morning visit starts at Wat Chedi Luang, whose huge brick stupa, begun in the late fourteenth century and partly toppled by an earthquake in the sixteenth, once held the Emerald Buddha. The programme of Monk Chat, in which monks talk with visitors to practise English and answer questions about Buddhism, takes place at several temples in the old city, and it is a good opportunity to ask about monastic life.

The tour continues to other temples chosen by your guide, depending on the day and the crowds. Wat Phra Singh, the most revered temple in the old city, has a beautiful assembly hall with old murals. Wat Umong, in the forest at the foot of Doi Suthep, has tunnels and a peaceful pond. Wat Phan Tao, a wooden temple next to Chedi Luang, is small and elegant. Dress modestly: covering shoulders and knees is required, and shoes are removed before entering halls. Women should not touch monks or hand them anything directly.

The afternoon begins at Warorot Market, Chiang Mai's biggest traditional market, near the river. Its stalls sell fresh herbs, vegetables, fish, northern sausages, dried chilli, fermented pork and fruit, and your teacher explains the ingredients as you choose them. Northern Thai cooking differs from the food of Bangkok: it is less sweet, uses more bitter and sour flavours, relies on sticky rice, and has a strong tradition of dips and grilled meats.

The class takes place in a kitchen in the old city, where you prepare three northern dishes. Khanom jeen nam ngiao is a dish of fresh rice noodles in a tangy tomato and pork broth. Sai oua is a coarse pork sausage bursting with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime. Nam prik noom is a dip of roasted green chillies, garlic and shallots, eaten with sticky rice, pork rinds and fresh vegetables. You eat the dishes you have made for lunch and take home a recipe booklet.

The best time to visit is from November to February, when the weather is cool. From February to April, smoke from agricultural burning can affect air quality; travellers with breathing problems should check conditions before visiting.

Tell us in advance about dietary requirements, allergies and spice levels, and the dishes can be adapted.

The day lasts around seven hours. A private guide for the full day, a Warorot Market tour, a cooking class with all ingredients, lunch, a recipe booklet and tuk-tuk rides between sites are included.