Wat Phra That Phanom

Revered Mekong Side Stupa Of North East Thailand And Laos, Rebuilt After Its Collapse In 1975 · That Phanom, Nakhon Phanom

Wat Phra That Phanom is the most revered temple of north-east Thailand and a pilgrimage place for Lao Buddhists on both banks of the Mekong. Its stupa, the That Phanom, is a tall, slender tower in the Lao style, about 53 to 57 metres high, square in plan and rising in tiers to a pointed spire, painted white and heavily decorated with gold, with carved brick panels at its base. Tradition holds that it enshrines a breastbone relic of the Buddha, brought here by disciples, and chronicles place its origins far back in the region's history. In 1975, after days of heavy rain, the old stupa collapsed, a shock felt across Thailand and Laos, and it was rebuilt in the following years on the same form. The temple faces the Mekong across a small riverside town, and a gateway leads from its courtyard towards the river and the mountains of Laos beyond. It is busiest during the annual festival around the full moon of the third lunar month, usually in February, when pilgrims pour in day and night.

Chayangkun Road, That Phanom, That Phanom, Nakhon Phanom, 48110, Thailand

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the temple grounds are open daily from early morning, around 5 or 6 am, to the evening, around 8 or 9 pm, with the stupa floodlit after dark; the halls and any museum or display room keep shorter hours, about 8 am to 4 or 5 pm, and may close at midday or during ceremonies; there is no weekly closing day. The traps that ruin a visit are arriving at midday when the courtyard paving is too hot and glaring, turning up in shorts and being kept out of the inner courtyard, coming during the February festival without a room, and planning around a Lao market day that has not happened in years. Confirm current times before relying on them.

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