Jui Tui Shrine
The shrine of the Nine Emperor Gods, where the Vegetarian Festival begins with the raising of the Go Teng pole on its eve. It stands near the Ranong Road market.
Things to do · temples
The Big Buddha and the temples of Phuket
What is open, when to go, how to dress, and how the Buddhist temples differ from the Chinese shrines.
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Phuket's religious sites fall into two families. The Buddhist temples (wat) are Thai: the Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, Wat Chalong, Wat Phra Thong in the centre-north of the island. The shrines of the Old Town are Chinese, and they are the centre of the Vegetarian Festival every autumn.
The Big Buddha and Wat Chalong are about 8 km apart by road and are easy to see in one morning. The shrines are best seen while walking the Old Town.
The short answer
Go to the Big Buddha early in the day, then down to Wat Chalong before the late-morning crowds; cover shoulders and knees for both. Add the Chinese shrines when you walk the Old Town, and Wat Phra Thong if you are on the airport road anyway.
Pick your temple
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The view and the landmark
The Big Buddha
On Nakkerd Hill between Kata and Chalong; open 9 am to 6 pm since March 2026.
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The island's best-known Buddhist temple
Wat Chalong
Free, open from about 7 am; the chedi holds a relic of the Buddha.
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The heart of the Vegetarian Festival
A Chinese shrine on Ranong Road, in the Old Town.
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A legend rather than a monument
Wat Phra Thong
A golden Buddha emerging from the ground, in Thalang.
The Big Buddha
The statue, Phra Phuttha Ming Mongkol Eknakiri, stands on top of Nakkerd Hill between Chalong and Kata: 45 m high, made of reinforced concrete faced with white Burmese marble. Work began in the early 2000s (sources give 2002 or 2004), funded mostly by donations according to one source.
On 23 August 2024, a landslide below the hill killed 13 people and injured 19 in Kata, and the site was closed. Its cause is disputed: the army pointed to earthworks on the site, while the provincial natural resources director pointed to the geology of the hill, and the foundation then running the site denied responsibility. A class action by residents was still before the Phuket court in March 2026. It is worth knowing before you go: the statue stands above the homes where people died.
The Big Buddha reopened on 3 March 2026. It is now run by Wat Kittisangkharam (Wat Kata) rather than by the foundation that built it, on a permitted area of 15 rai (about 2.4 hectares) and under 25 conditions set by the Forestry Department. The rest of the hill remained closed as of March 2026.
Not for you if you ride a scooter with little experience: the road up is steep and narrow in places. One source describes a walking trail up from Patak Road in Karon, near the area of the 2024 landslide; we could not confirm that it is safe or open, and do not recommend it.
| Opening hours | Every day, 9 am to 6 pm; last entry around 5.30 pm |
|---|---|
| Admission | Free for the first month after it reopened in March 2026, with donations welcome; we found no confirmed fee since |
| Dress | Shoulders and knees covered, no beachwear; shoes off in the indoor shrines |
| Getting there | By road, up a lane from Chaofa West Road in Chalong that is steep and narrow in places; by car, taxi, scooter or a tuk-tuk that waits for you |
| What is open | The statue, the main stairway, the temple area and the viewing terraces, according to a guide written after the reopening |
Wat Chalong
Wat Chalong, officially Wat Chaiyathararam, is about 8 km south of Phuket Town on Chaofa West Road. It is revered for its link to two monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, whose gilded statues stand inside. Luang Pho Chaem sheltered refugees and treated the wounded during the uprising of Chinese tin miners in 1876, and was made head of the island's monks by King Chulalongkorn the following year.
The tall chedi, the Phra Mahathat, was built between 1991 and 2001; sources give its height as 60 or 61 m. It holds a bone relic of the Buddha, given by Sri Lanka in 1999.
You will hear firecrackers. They are set off in a brick oven, the bigger ones by the temple staff, as thanks when a wish made there comes true, at no fixed time. It can startle small children.
| Opening hours | The buildings from about 7 am to 5 pm; the grounds stay open |
|---|---|
| Admission | Free, donations welcome |
| Dress | Shoulders and knees covered; shoes and hats off before entering a building |
| Crowds | Busiest from late morning to early afternoon |
The Chinese shrines of the Old Town
The shrines of Phuket Town are Chinese, most of them built by the Hokkien families who came for the tin. Modest clothes are the respectful choice; Jui Tui and the Shrine of the Serene Light are free to enter.
They come to life during the Vegetarian Festival, held over the first nine days of the ninth Chinese lunar month. In 2026 it ran from 10 to 18 October, with processions from 11 to 18 October. The dates for 2027 had not been announced when we checked.
Put Jaw Shrine
Dedicated to Guan Yin, the goddess of mercy, and described by one guide as the oldest Chinese shrine in Phuket Town. Restoration work began in 2024, with completion announced for 2026; we could not confirm that it is finished.
Shrine of the Serene Light
The Saeng Tham shrine, a family shrine at the end of a passage from Phang Nga Road, founded in the late 19th century by a Hokkien family. It is small, behind a large Chinese gate added in 2010.
Wat Phra Thong
In Thalang, in the centre-north of the island on Thep Krasattri Road, the main road to the airport, Wat Phra Thong houses a golden Buddha whose head, shoulders and chest are all that rise above the ground. The legend, told in several versions, is that a boy tied his buffalo to what looked like a stump; boy and buffalo died, the stump turned out to be the top of a Buddha, and everyone who tried to dig it up was driven off by swarms of insects. The temple dates from the late Ayutthaya period, in the 18th century, according to one source.
It is a short stop rather than a destination, and it fits on the way to or from the airport.
How to behave in a temple
The Tourism Authority of Thailand's guidance for visiting Buddhist temples applies in Phuket as anywhere else in the country:
Dress. No beachwear or vest tops. Men: shirt with sleeves, trousers or shorts below the knee. Women: skirt below the knee, top with sleeves.
Shoes. Take them off before entering a building; there are shelves outside.
Feet. When you sit in front of a Buddha image, point your feet away from it.
Buddha images. Do not touch or point at them, do not turn your back to them, and do not stand higher than them.
Monks. A woman does not touch a monk or his robe; to give him something, she puts it down or hands it to a man.
Seeing them in one morning
Start at the Big Buddha at opening time, at 9 am. Come down to Wat Chalong, about 8 km away, and visit it before the late-morning crowds. From there, Phuket Town and the Chinese shrines are about 8 km further north: an easy way to end the morning with lunch in the Old Town.
A half-day tour combines the Big Buddha, Wat Chalong and the Old Town. It suits you if you do not want to drive the hill road.
These places on the map
- Big Buddha Temples and shrines
- Wat Chalong Temples and shrines
- Jui Tui Shrine Temples and shrines
- Shrine of the Serene Light Temples and shrines
- Wat Phra Thong Temples and shrines
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Things to do · the islands
Islands
From Phuket you can reach many islands in a day: Phi Phi and Maya Bay, the Racha islands to the south, small Coral Island, the Khai islands, the Similan far to the north-west, and the quiet Koh Yao islands in Phang Nga Bay. They are not reached from the same pier, and they are not all open all year.
Things to do · Phang Nga Bay
Phang Nga Bay
North-east of Phuket, Phang Nga Bay is a sea of limestone towers, mangroves and hidden lagoons, much of it protected as a national park. A day there usually combines James Bond Island, a stilt village and a canoe ride into the hongs. Sheltered on three sides, the bay can be visited almost all year; James Bond Island is crowded around midday.
Things to do · the Old Town
Old Town
A grid of painted shophouses built on tin money, a food culture that earned Phuket a UNESCO City of Gastronomy title, and a Sunday market that fills Thalang Road: the Old Town is the part of Phuket that is not about the sea.
Things to do · Patong
Patong
Patong is Phuket's busiest resort: a 3 km beach in a bay on the west coast, a town of hotels, malls and markets behind it, and Bangla Road, the island's nightlife street. It is convenient, loud and very easy to enjoy if you know where its rules and its traps are.
Things to do · the south
Rawai and the south
The south of Phuket ends in a cape where crowds gather every evening for the sunset. Around it are Nai Harn, a bay with a lake behind it, the small cove of Ya Nui, Rawai with its longtail pier and seafood market, and Chalong, whose pier is the island's busiest for boat trips.
Things to do · night markets
Night markets
Phuket's markets run on a weekly rhythm: the Old Town's Sunday Walking Street, the weekend market at Naka, container stalls at Chillva from Monday to Saturday, and markets every evening in Patong and Kata. The food is the reason to go, and the day you are on the island decides which one you can see.
Where to stay
Where to stay
Kata and Karon for a first trip, Patong for the nights, the Old Town for the food, Mai Khao for the airport: the area you sleep in decides your beach, your evenings and your drives.
Travel info
Travel info
The practical side of a trip to Phuket: entry rules that changed in September 2026, an airport at the far north of the island, blue buses that run from Phuket Town to one beach and back but never between beaches, scooters that put many riders in hospital, and a few habits that save money.
Common questions
Is the Big Buddha in Phuket open?
Yes. It reopened on 3 March 2026 after being closed since the landslide of August 2024, and is open every day from 9 am to 6 pm. Only the statue, the main stairway, the temple area and the terraces were open as of March 2026; the rest of the hill was closed.
How much does it cost to visit the Big Buddha?
Entry was free for the first month after it reopened in March 2026, with donations welcome. We found no confirmed fee since.
What should I wear to the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong?
Clothes that cover your shoulders and knees, and no beachwear. Take your shoes off before entering a building.
Why are there firecrackers at Wat Chalong?
They are set off in a brick oven as thanks when a wish made there has come true. There is no fixed time.
When is the Phuket Vegetarian Festival?
Over the first nine days of the ninth Chinese lunar month, so the dates change each year. In 2026 it ran from 10 to 18 October. The 2027 dates had not been announced when we checked.