The White Buddha

A stunningly beautiful hillside monument

By Grant Cameron

May 12^th, 2019

Wat Theppitak Punnaram

If you've ever driven north of Saraburi, going towards Khao Yai or Nakhon Ratchasima, you would have seen the great white Buddha on the right hand side just after the Muak Lek turn-off.

I wonder how many of you have taken a detour from your journey to visit it's temple.

The view

The temple is about 2kms down a long straight road that branches off Mittraphap Road, the white Buddha in constant sight as you drive towards it. At the base of a hill, it is a typical Thai temple but for that giant Buddha towering over you.

The Buddha's plinth provides commanding views of the Pakchong district's wide flat plain, with a few small hills breaking the flatness, and rolling misty hills away in the distance.

A View in Large size!

The image below will not appear all that impressive on a mobile device - if you can, switch to your laptop or pc to truly see and understand just how large this white Buddha is.

Some Facts

The statue is 27 metres wide and 45 metres high, and sits 112 metres above ground level and 510 metres above sea level. The staircase from the temple to the Buddha comprises 1,250 steps.

Luang Por Khao

Luang Por Khao is the name of the white Buddha according to locals. But it's formal name is Buddha Sikkol Sima Mongkol, given by H.M. the King Bhumibol, Rama IX.

A new Road, the M6

Until a few years ago, one could simply look straight down rural road No. 2220 from the temple and see nothing but country side. Even Mittraphap highway in the distance was hidden by trees and haze.

But that has changed - the scar traversing the middle distance of the below image is the foundations and route for the Bang Pa-In – Nakhon Ratchasima Intercity Motorway Project (M6) currently under construction. Having commenced in 2016 the project is 68 percent complete and the 103km road is expected to be open for traffic in 2021.

Getting there

The temple is about 175kms from downtown Bangkok, and you should allow about 2 hours to get there.

The map shows the position of the temple, but for the GPS coordinates I have given the location of the road entrance so that you will clearly know where to turn if coming from either direction - but as you can see the Buddha for miles, you are unlikely to miss it!

Wat Khao Wong Prachan: 14.638565N, 101.265521E

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