Wat Thipsukhontharam – Near Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Wat Thipsukhontharam was not anywhere on my radar when I started planning my trip to Kanchanaburi. Luckily for me, my dear friend Salapong had heard of this massive standing Buddha and wanted to share his first time there with Matt and me. Matt and I took a taxi out to Safari Park Zoo where Salapong works + lives and from there the three of us hopped on his motorbike (I’m sure we were quite the site) and made our way to the giant bronze Buddha. 

I honestly had no idea where we were going. Although I had worked in the area two years ago, after a certain turn I no longer recognized anything. I was wedged in-between Salapong and Matt on a motorbike has we zoomed our way out of Bo Phloi and toward who knows where. Salapong nudged me every time we passed a temple exclaiming, “Beautiful!” Then suddenly, standing in front of a large hill, I saw the giant Buddha.

All three of us were amazed at how big and beautiful this Buddha figure is! The grounds are immaculately kept and everyone we passed greeted us with a smile. You can tell that the people who work here are truly proud of this marvel.

Salapong bought us incense to leave as an offering and ask for a blessing before walking up to the Buddha figure. He said it would bring good luck. So we lit our incense, bowed three times, left them and asked for our blessing before proceeding through the grounds. 

Quick Facts About the Buddha at Wat Thipsukhontharam

✈︎ This is Thailand’s largest standing bronze Buddha Statue. This is extra-impressive because bronze is such a soft metal to work with.

✈︎ The statue itself is 32 meters (just shy of 105 feet), but it also stands on an 8-meter (26 feet) tall base!

✈︎ The Buddha figure is standing with the Abhaya Mudra (mudra means hand-pose). This is the mudra of fearlessness and is is supposed to be the pose he took after attaining enlightenment. It symbolizes peace, protection and, of course, fearlessness.

✈︎ It took 4 years to build this massive statue.

✈︎ The Queen of the late King of Thailand gave her blessing and helped ensure the construction + acquire the funds for this massive, beautiful project.

The beautifully manicured grounds.

Wat Thipsukhontharam Museum

Admission for this museum was only 100 baht. For those who choose to enjoy it, there’s a/c which is a much needed break from the heat. Unfortunately the boys didn’t get to enjoy this and waited outside for me to go through the museum. This is the museum I’ve enjoyed the most in Thailand thus far. It gives a lot of information on this giant Buddha and the monk who had the vision for it. Then in addition to that, there were some really great interactive exhibits on Buddhism and it’s spread  throughout Asia along with artifacts.

Replica of the foot + display of how it was made // a smaller replica of the Giant Buddha with the real deal in the background // a photo of them adding the head of the Buddha to the massive figure

There were many screens and videos throughout the museums as well that taught each patron of the museum more about Buddhism and its rich history. I really enjoyed watching these. There were also models of influential sites for Buddhism. It just was an all around wonderful museum full of educational material that was easy to digest.

This site is one of those places that you find it difficult to leave. Especially after learning about the love and passion that went into this site by the monk Senior Thera. I think they did a marvelous job realizing his vision for this gorgeous spot in Kanchanaburi. Don’t miss this gorgeous statue if you’re in the area.

A Special Thanks:

I wanted to take a moment to thank this man, Salapong, for taking Matt and me on this adventure. I love visiting places with Salapong because he is just a genuinely great friend. His excitement to show others his beautiful hometown is apparent. He was so generous with his time, and the use of his motorbike, to show us some of the more off-the-beaten path sites near Kanchanaburi. It’s often the people you meet while traveling that make a destination truly special.

Did You Enjoy This Post? PIN IT So Others Can As Well!

Booking.com


Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you book your accommodation on Booking.com through For the Love of Wanderlust, you will help me stay on the road + keep my site running at no additional cost for you.