Lamphun Hotels

Lamphun is the provincial capital of Lamphun Province. Legend handed down for more than 1,400 years refer to this ancient town as Hariphunchai. Its first ruler was Queen Chamthewi who was of Mon extraction. In late 12th century, King Mengrai overran the town and subsequently integrated it into the Lanna Kingdom. Today, Lamphun still retain its enchanting ambience of a small but old community. It is some 670 kilometres from Bangkok and only 26 kilometres from Chiang Mai. Located on the bank of the Kuang River, its attractions include ancient sites and relics as well as forests and mountains and delightful lakes. Lamphun is the most famous producer of longans. This quiet town, capital of the province of the same name, lies southeast of Chiang Mai on the banks of Nam Mae Kuang. Best visited as a day trip from Chiang Mai, Lamphun was, along with Pasang, the centre of a small Hariphunchai principality (AD 750–1281) originally ruled by the semilegendary Mon queen, Chama Thewi. Long after its Mon progenitor and predecessor Dvaravati was vanquished by the Khmer, Hariphunchai succeeded in remaining independent of both the Thais and the Khmer.The enthusiastically run museum is a good place to learn about this quiet town's venerable history. The ancient and vibrant working temple of Wat Phra That Haripunchai is a must see, and August is a lively time to visit Lamphun and sample the fruits of the surrounding fields at its longan festival.