Wat Chedi Luang is a wonderful old atmospheric temple and chedi set amid a grove of mature trees; if you only see one temple in Chiang Saen make it this one. Wat Chedi Luang translates as ‘royal stupa temple’, so named since it’s thought to have been the principal temple of Phaya Saen Pu’s capital city. If this is true, the temple then dates to the early 14th century and, according to people who know about these things, the octagonal base of the imposing 18-metre chedi represents the classic Chiang Saen style.