Wat Chalong

Why go

It is the island's best-known Buddhist temple, revered for its link to two monks, and free to visit. With the Big Buddha, about 8 km away, it makes an easy morning.

Not for you if loud bangs upset you or your children: firecrackers go off at no fixed time.

What you will find

Inside, gilded statues of two monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, are the focus of worship. 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.

The firecrackers are set off in a brick oven, the bigger ones by the temple staff, as thanks when a wish made there comes true.

The story

Wat Chalong is officially Wat Chaiyathararam. During the uprising of Chinese tin miners in 1876, Luang Pho Chaem sheltered refugees and treated the wounded, and the following year King Chulalongkorn made him head of the island's monks.

Getting there

By road, on Chaofa West Road in Chalong, about 8 km south of Phuket Town and about 8 km from the Big Buddha. A half-day tour combines the temple, the Big Buddha and the Old Town, if you would rather not drive.

Before you go

The buildings are open from about 7 am to 5 pm; the grounds stay open. It is busiest from late morning to early afternoon.

Cover your shoulders and knees, and take off your shoes and hat before entering a building. When you sit before a Buddha image, point your feet away from it.