Temples in Phuket

Hey, this is Thailand you know. If you're not "templed out" after a few days in Bangkok, then why not discover some of Phuket's many Buddhist Temples. The largest is Wat Chalong, which can be quite busy with locals and tourists, but every area has it's own small temple if you want more of a local flavour and a bit of history. In Kathu village close to where we live you find a Wat and a Chinese temple. This section will get even bigger as time goes by. My mission - to blog all the temples in Phuket ... eventually.



Phuket Temples

Thalang Area

Thalang is right in the center of Phuket, not near the beach, and was once the seat of government. In 1785, the people of Phuket rallied at Thalang to fight off a Burmese invasion, a date that lives long in the history of Phuket. Wat Phra Nang Sang was built on the battleground. The Thalang area has some large and important historic temples...

• Wat Sri Sunthorn
• Wat Phra Thong
• Wat Phra Nang Sang
• Wat Tha Reua Temple



Chalong Area

Wat Chalong is the largest temple in Phuket and the most visited. In the same area are other smaller local temples, not all blogged yet! I pass Chalong temple almost every day. It looks especially nice in the early morning.

• Chalong Temple (Wat Chalong)
• Early Morning at Wat Chalong
• Wat Ladthiwanaram

And there's the Big Buddha!




Beach Temples

Most of the beach areas of Phuket also have local communities even if the old way of life has largely been swamped by tourism. If you get off the beach and look on the back roads you can find the older areas, and that's where you find the temples. More to come - I finally took some photos of Karon and Kata temples recently - never been for a look before, even though they're just down the road from work!

• Karon Temple
• Patong Temple
• Kamala Temple
• Kata Temple
• Wat Sawang Arom (Rawai)
• Phromthep Meditation Center


Local Temples

All over Phuket, in every village or tambon you will find a temple. I like the feel of the local temples. Every one has it's little differences and they are little havens of peace away from daily life.

• Wat Sapam
• Koh Sirey Temple
• Kathu and Ket Ho Temples
• Sam Kong Temple
• Wat Kosit Wiharn
• Wat Thep Nimit
• Naka Temple
• Wat Manik
• Wat Mongkhon Nimit (in old part of Phuket Town)
• Wat Vichit Sangkaram (Phuket Town)


Chinese Shrines

Many Chinese shrines are important during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival which has been a Phuket tradition since 1825. There are many more than those listed below, mostly in and around Phuket Town such as Jui Tui and Bang Neow shrines - I must get them blogged sometime!

• Shrine on Patong Hill
• Kathu Village Shrine - More of Kathu Shrine
• Sam Kong Shrine
• Jui Tui Shrine
• Shrine of the Serene Light



Temples not in Phuket

Of course all of Thailand is a temple. Now and then we might visit a temple that is not in Phuket. We recently stopped at Wat Suwan Kuha in Phang Nga province. Big reclining Buddha in a cave, monkeys, well worth a visit!

• Wat Suwan Kuha

The Phuket temples featured so far are all Buddhist / Chinese. I should point out that Phuket has a sizeable Muslim population (around 30%), and there are several quite large mosques around the island. There is also at least 1 Catholic church (in Phuket town). There's a street in Phuket Town that features a mosque, church and chinese shrine! In Phuket the different religions and beliefs mix together without any problems, a good example for the rest of the world...