Baan Dam, the Black House

Baan Dam, the Black House, is a museum north of Chiang Rai made by the National Artist Thawan Duchanee: more than 25 buildings in the old northern style, dark carved wood, and collections of crocodile and snake skins and animal horns. It is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00 and costs 80 baht (Tourism Authority of Thailand, checked November 2026). MONKEY TRAVEL ASIA's three-temple coach from Chiang Mai does not stop there. Black Dragon Tours’ Best of Chiang Rai: Guided Tour of 7 Major Sites & River View Buffet, from US$40 on promotion, usually US$45 a person (checked November 2026), does, on a day that starts in Chiang Rai.

On 26 November 2026 the day cost US$39.50 a person with no admissions included, US$44.89 on its second option and US$67.33 with all tickets, starting at 8:00 AM (checked November 2026). Cancellation is free until a day before.

What the Black House is

Baan Dam is not a temple, though it is often visited with them. The Tourism Authority describes it as an artistic creation of Thawan Duchanee, a National Artist in visual arts: more than 25 buildings in the traditional style of northern Thailand and several adapted local buildings, carved with wooden motifs against a black ground. Inside are large crocodile and snake skins, animal horns and other collected pieces of folk art.

Tours give it more time than the Blue Temple: Black Dragon Tours allows 50 minutes, against 30 at Wat Rong Suea Ten.

Fee, hours and how to get there

Tourism Authority of Thailand, checked November 2026.

By road Baan Dam is 9 km north of the Blue Temple, about 10 minutes, 11.8 km from the clock tower in the centre and 27.5 km from the White Temple. That puts it on the way north, and the tours that include it usually go on to the Golden Triangle, 60 km further.

Tours that stop there

GetYourGuide itineraries and Viator listing, checked November 2026.

Both Black Dragon Tours days start with a hotel pickup in Chiang Rai at about 8:00 AM, take small groups and add the White Temple, the Blue Temple, a Karen village, the Choui Fong tea plantation, the Golden Triangle and an opium museum, with a buffet lunch; they finish around 6:00 to 6:30 PM at your hotel or the night market. From Chiang Mai, AP Good@travel’s private day collects at a hotel in the city at 8:00 AM and visits the White Temple, the Blue Temple and the Black House with lunch and a guide licensed by the Tourism Authority, at US$153 a person for two (checked November 2026).

Check dates for a day with Baan Dam

Which to book

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026, Viator checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.