Wat Chalong
Attraction On the road from Phuket Town to Rawai Beach, Phuket Town, Phuket, Thailand Published on: 26-06-2016
| 2 hours | |
| 06:00 AM - 05:00 PM | |
| 08:00 AM | |
| 10:00 AM | |
| First-time visit | |
|
Attraction
Historic
Landmark
Must see
Kids
Free
Architecture
Temple & Monument
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| 0.00 USD |
Wat Chalong is good for
Family with kids
Good
Senior
Good
Couple
Good
Solo
Good
Group
Good
- Highly recommended by fellow travellers.
and 2 others
have visited this place
Image copyrights belong to authors
Why Wat Chalong is special ?
Chalong Temple (Wat Chalong) is the largest of Phuket's temples, and the most visited. Locals and many Thai tourists come to pray and pay respects to several revered monks who were the founders of Wat Chalong, among them Luang Pho Cham and Luang Pho Chuang, 2 monks who were well known for herbal medicine and took care of local villagers and negotiated for a settlement during a chinese miners rebellion in the 1870's.
The most recent building on the grounds of Wat Chalong is a 60 meters tall 'Chedi' sheltering a splinter of bone from Buddha. Walls and ceilings are decorated with beautiful painting illustrating the life of Buddha, as well as many donated golden statues.
Source: phuket101.net
What to explore at Wat Chalong?
Wat Chalong Chedi is built on three floors so feel free to climb all the way to the top floor terrace to get a nice bird view on the entire temple grounds. Few more steps will lead you to a glass display where the fragment of bone can be contemplated. You can see the nearby Phuket Big Buddha from there, but actually you can see it from almost anywhere in the southern part of Phuket island.
The central temple is where most Thai people will make merit by offering lotus flowers and adding a small piece of gold paper to the monks statues inside.
On the side of the temple a dozen of small shops are selling all kinds of souvenirs and tourist stuff... Strangely, the shops selling religious items are outside the temple ground, next to the gate, go figure...
Then there are the occasional large fun fairs, displaying lots of food, plenty of favourite Thai games and loud stage performances. It's always fun, noisy, entertaining and will certainly give you interesting of opportunities to take some fun photos and an insight on Thai life.
Source: phuket101.net
How to get to Wat Chalong?
Chalong temple is located between Phuket Town and Chalong. The road runs from the Central Festival shopping mall on the edge of town to Chalong circle. From Phuket town, take 'Chaofa Road' in the direction of Chalong and Rawai. There are two Chaofa Roads: the one you need is passing in front of Central Festivaland all the shopping malls. It's about 10 km from Central on the left, well indicated.
Source: phuket101.net
Selling points
- Well worth the look
- Beautiful Architecture
- Buddha temple in a peaceful locality
- Very beautiful and interesting Wat
- The Largest temple in Phuket
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- Duration
- 7.0 days
- Estimated
- 343.45 USD
- Total travel distance
- km
- Number of places
- 27 places
Location
On the road from Phuket Town to Rawai Beach, Phuket Town, Phuket, Thailand
Tips for you
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Remember to remove your shoes (and cap) before stepping in.Customes
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Making a donation even small is a nice gesture and ultimately, it is good for you.Things to do
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There is little/no guiding or information to help explain significance of the temples or iconsService
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Should go inside and shop around for great street food at a very low costFood
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You should wear long pants and no sleeveless shirts. If you are female your shoulders must be coveredWhat to wear
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Early or Late - that's the key to avoid the crowds at any tourist destination in the world!Timming
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Do not come here on hot days.Weather
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There are markets around the Wat where you can buy cheap souvenirs, drinks etcThings nearby
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If you want a good half day tour, you can combine Chalong temple with some of the small beaches in the SW corner of Phuket such as Yanui Beach or Rawai Beach, along with Laem Phromthep, a drive up one of the hills mentioned above (good for sunsets) or a walk down Chalong Jetty in the evening as many locals do... and home in time for dinner!Things nearby
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The views from the tower are very nice, across the temple grounds looking towards the green hills. You can see Buddha Mountain and Radar Hill from here.View
Reviews
We were fortunate enough to be able to visit this temple early morning before the heat set in and tourist buses arrived. Very colorful and well maintained. It was also a treat to visit a temple where there were actually some monks chanting. (Yes! The monks chant and the tourist donate funds towards the upkeep of the temple!)
We visited this temple on the way to the Big Buddha. The detail on the temples' interior and exterior is impressive. The temple was not too busy which allowed for easy viewing on each level. There were also markets outside of the temple. It's definitely worth a look.
It is a wonderful temple complex with a quiet and peaceful surrounding. This is probably the best temple complex outside Bangkok and a lot less crowded. One can easily spend an hour here.
We visited this Buddha temple at around 5 in the evening the sun was setting and the main temple was glittering like a jewel. Wat Chalong temple is very organised clean and very well kept. The structures are amazing with their designs and workmanship. It's truly a milestone to visit if you go to Phuket.
1 Comment
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