Wat Hat Yai Nai (Reclining Buddha)

About this Place

Wat Hat Yai Nai houses Thailand's fifth-largest reclining Buddha — a 35-metre image that virtually fills the entire viharn (assembly hall) in which it lies. The scale is genuinely awe-inspiring: to see the full length you must walk alongside the building. The internal chamber beneath the viharn contains an astonishing interior — 169,000 small Buddha images arranged in niches covering every surface from floor to ceiling, creating a kaleidoscopic effect that is one of southern Thailand's most memorable visual experiences. The temple complex also contains a museum with a wax effigy of the monk who commissioned the Buddha image. Located in Hat Yai's western suburbs, 10 minutes from the centre by tuk-tuk. Admission free. Modest dress required (sarongs available at gate). A genuinely impressive Buddhist monument in a city that most visitors pass through quickly.