Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao is a temple of some significance in Lampang. It attained its name from the Buddha relic PhraBoromathat Don Tao that was enshrined there.

The history of this temple cannot be separated from the story of Mrs Suchada (the temple dedicated to her next to Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao is featured separately).

Legend has it that Mrs. Suchada found an emerald in the watermelon and offered it to a great monk who hired a craftsman to carve it as a Buddha image called Phra Kaeo Don Tao which was later enshrined at Wat Phra That Lampang Luang. It’s said that someone told this story to the Lampang governor at the time that the monk and Mrs. Suchada had committed adultery. She was therefore executed, while the monk fled away with the Buddha image. Some assumed that Wat Phra Kaeo Don Tao and Wat Suchadaram were deserted, adding that this area was a watermelon orchard and upland.

Creating a timeline for this temple is difficult. There were clearly religious buildings here at least during the early Lanna kingdom while a Khelang town was created in the late 18th Century by the influx of refugees from Chiang Saen. A century later the Burmese presence created by the logging industry can be seen in the ornate teakwood viharn.