Chom Khau Maneerat

Chom Khau Maneerat lies in the hill country around Muang Sing, a district of Luang Namtha Province close to the Yunnan border. Ridges, broad forested slopes and narrow valleys dominate the area, with the Nam Dai, Nam Sing and Nam Yuan meeting just beyond the town. Roughly half of the district falls within the Nam Ha protected landscape, where dense forest and steep ground shape settlement. Villages spread across several elevations and are home to more than nine ethnic groups, including Akha and Tai Lue communities.

Before the eighteenth century little is recorded of Muang Sing’s history. A walled settlement called Wiang Fa Ya was founded by the widow of Chiang Khaeng’s ruler, who ordered a large stupa in 1792. The settlement grew as a semi-autonomous centre between Burmese, Chinese, Thai and Lao worlds. These highland routes sustained trade and pilgrimage while the mountains separated valley communities and exposed them to distant political rivalries.