Thai Wat - Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri

Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri in the Thailand Province of Phrae is a modern Thai Wat, completed in 1984. The first thing you will notice about Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri is the enormous reclining Buddha which can be easily seen from the Denchai-Lampang highway 101, just a few kilometers outside the city of Phrae. This spectacular image, at 89m long, is one of the largest reclining Buddhas in Thailand and is named the Phra Buddha Sai Yat. Indeed, everything about this Thai Wat is both colourful and spectacular with its amazing architecture and displays of Buddhist art with many fine examples of Lanna, Burmese and Laotian styles.

Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri is very popular with Thai tourists but foreigners mostly seem unaware of this treasure. Whilst there is a great deal of originality at Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri, some of the artworks having been created or designed by the Abbot himself, many of the objects are reproductions of Buddhist art in other temples.

Anyone familiar with Thailand’s temples will recognize not only many of the religious objects of art but also some of the larger buildings which were built as replicas of buildings at temples elsewhere.

There is so much to see at Wat Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri but of special interest is the fabulous golden Buddha in the Ubosot, the walls of which are covered in Lanna style paintings. The two huge giants guarding the entrance to the Ubosot just can’t be missed. Perhaps the most outstanding feature though is the Phrathat Suthon Mongkon Khiri Pagoda, a magnificent Chedi covered in gold, which houses sacred relics of the Lord Buddha.

Find the best prices for Hotels in Phrae