Whenever I visit a new city, I always make it a goal to enjoy an experience or check out an attraction that is not within the “Top Five” or “Top Ten” or even “Top Fifteen” popular things to do in that city.
Obviously, you can’t go to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, etc. No visit to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Colosseum, and you can’t go to Chiang Mai without exploring the countless temples.
But, it’s always nice to do something a little different–something that not everyone does on their first visit.
In Chiang Mai, there are literally limitless ways to spend your time. Between visiting an elephant camp, taking a cooking class, hiking, meditating, rafting, zip-lining, and shopping you could easily make a week’s worth of plans and still miss out on some “top” activities.
However, one thing that I definitely recommend checking out that many people overlook is visiting the mysterious Terracotta Garden.
This “secret garden” is actually not all that secret. It belongs to the Baan Phor Liang Meun terracotta showroom, which sits across the street from the garden in a Lanna-style wooden house. All statues and figures can be purchased in the showroom.
Despite this, you will definitely feel like you have stepped into a lost, ancient city when you enter the garden.
It’s such a contrast from the city outside: stone walls enclose the garden, which houses broken, moss-covered clay figures of Buddhist and Hindu deities. Most of the figures are chipped and imperfect; some are simply fragments and shards of former sculptures. The garden is lush, green, cool and shaded due to the thick moss and plants that grow on the ground and walls of the garden.
There is such an interesting assortment of figures, and no two look the same. In addition to the subtle differences that come with handcrafted pottery, there are also differences in the defects, cracks, and moss on each and every piece.
It’s easy to get lost here as you wander among the piles of broken clay pieces.
If you’re looking to escape from the heat and crowds of Chiang Mai, this is a great alternative. You’ll only need an hour at most here, and can easily fit it in during a day of exploring the Old City.
It’s definitely a hidden gem of Chiang Mai, and one of my favorite places to relax and wind down in the city.
You can find the garden near the South Gate of the Old City. It is located on Phra Pok Klao Soi 2.
This looks like such a cool place! You can actually buy this stuff?! Did you buy anything?
It was definitely a nice break from the city heat! Yeah, apparently it’s all for sale. I didn’t buy anything for myself, but I bought 3 small figurines for my parents 🙂 They thought they were really unique!
I loved this place when I went several years ago. Is it still there? I heard it was turned into a cafe or something.
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yes. I was there 2 weeks ago. it’s still there and even though they change into cafe but the garden still looks the same.
Hi Kelly! I was here six weeks ago. The garden has been deconstructed. The walls are still there, and the Faces cafe/restaurant is still on the property, but the small seating area that you described, and the statues laying all around have been removed temporarily. There was a white tent in the middle of the garden, which looked like someone was getting ready to build a more formal building or cafe. The walls were still gorgeous and worth a look. The space is so serene if you’re not looking at the construction debris.
Aw, how sad!! It was such a fun little place to stumble upon, but I guess I’m not surprised to hear it’s changed since my visit. Hope you enjoyed Chiang Mai overall!
Just FYI, it looks like the garden is now permanently closed, if Google can be trusted. We never even got to go, and had it on our list for next time around! 🙁
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