Wat Chedi Luang

This guide to Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai traces the towering brick chedi raised in 1468 to house the Emerald Buddha, a small jade statue believed to protect whoever holds it and once the pride of the Lanna kingdom. It follows the 1545 earthquake that tore off the summit and the monks who pulled the relic from the rubble before it left the hill for good. Look for the shattered stone elephants still standing guard at the tower's base.