Wat Chamthewi, Lamphun

Wat Chamthewi lies on the western edge of Lamphun and holds two of the oldest standing structures in northern Thailand. Both are stepped brick chedis in the Mon manner, quite unlike the bell-shaped Thai form, and they are the clearest surviving trace of the Hariphunchai kingdom.

The larger, Suwan Chang Kot, is a square tower rising in five diminishing tiers, each face of each tier holding three niches with a standing Buddha - sixty figures in all, in stucco, weathered but largely intact. It lost its gold-clad summit centuries ago, which is why the temple is also known locally as the chedi without a top. The smaller octagonal chedi beside it is of similar age.

The temple is named for Queen Chamthewi, the eighth-century Mon ruler who founded Hariphunchai, and is traditionally held to contain her ashes.