Mount Golden Buddha in Pattaya - not a temple, but an image
Khao Chi Chan or Mount of the Golden Buddha is one of the most famous attractions in Pattaya. It looks like a contour image of the Buddha, lined with gold plates on the hewn surface of a limestone hill, towering over flat terrain. And the temple is below at the foot of the mountain.
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Mount Golden Buddha in Pattaya
During the war between the United States and Vietnam, the mountain was used to extract building material for the American military base. In 1996, in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the reign of King Rama IX, so beloved and revered by Thais, on the northern slope of the hill, it was decided to create the world's largest rock image of Buddha, lined with gold; which, by the way, took about one and a half tons to complete the project.
Some of the money for gold for the drawing was donated by ordinary people, parishioners of Buddhist temples. The image was applied to the surface of the mountain with a laser, according to a program previously calculated on a computer. The laser work took two days, and then within a few months the outline was manually finished with large gold plates. The image is more than 100 meters high and about 70 meters wide. Buddha is depicted at the moment of enlightenment and symbolizes peace and tranquility.
An important point - do not confuse the Golden Buddha and Big Buddha, which is located in the center of Pattaya on a hill and is a large statue of a seated Buddha, not an image on a rock. It's just that sometimes, the image of the Golden Buddha is also called the Big Buddha, since the image is huge.
Roadside parking next to the mountain
View of the mountain from the road
View of the mountain from the entrance
Mount Golden Buddha in Pattaya
For Thais, it is primarily a religious place where they make pilgrimages to pray and offer gifts. At the foot of the mountain there is a temple where you can meet monks in orange robes. Therefore, you should behave here with respect..
True, along with religious Thais, crowds of noisy Chinese tourists can often be found near the mountain. But if you are lucky and there will be few people, you will see a quiet and pleasant place, conducive to contemplation and thoughts of the eternal.
In front of the mountain with the image of Buddha, there is a small park with paths and a lawn. There are spacious gazebos with benches scattered around the park, and around the lawn there are flowerbeds, decorative stones, rope swings on a tree and binoculars, through which you can see the image closer. You can't get close to him.
The mountain is located quite far outside the city, about 20 km south of the city center. In the same area, one can say in the vicinity of the mountain, there are several more interesting places that can be seen along with a visit to Khao Chi Chan. These are the Silver Lake vineyards and the large Wat Yan temple complex. On the way to the mountain, you can, if you wish, call in to see the attraction «Upside Down House», and a few kilometers further from the mountain there is a large new water park Ramayana.
Inspection of the mountain will not take much time, even if you thoughtfully walk around the entire park, so tourists usually combine a visit to this attraction with the Wat Yan complex and (or) the Silver Lake vineyards. Khao Chi Chan is included in several sightseeing tours, including free ones, which are conducted by tour operators in Pattaya.
Plates on the mountain up close
Park view from the mountain
View of the mountain from the park
Information to visit
Entrance fee: free.
The park is officially open from 8 am to 5 pm, but, of course, the mountain itself with the image can be seen from the road, it rises high above the surrounding area. E
If you want to take beautiful photographs of the mountain, it is better to come in the morning or evening, in the middle of the day the sun will be from the side of the mountain, shine directly into the camera. We'll have to shoot in backlight. In addition, in the middle of the day, walking on open lawns under the scorching sun is very hot and the chance to meet crowds of tourists near the mountain increases..
From the infrastructure next to the mountain there is a large parking lot for tourist buses, next to which there are shops with all sorts of things, across the street from the park there are several very simple cafes with local food and toilets.
How to get there
You can get to the mountain yourself, by rented transport or taxi. Just keep in mind that it is better for the taxi driver to say exactly «Khao Chi Chan», so that he does not confuse the place you need with the statue of the Golden Buddha on a mountain in the center of Pattaya.
Public transport does not go to those areas where the Golden Buddha Mountain is located, but you can go along the Sukhumvit highway in the direction of Sattahiba on a white tuk-tuk for 20 baht and get off about 160 km of the road, at the turn to Khao Chi Chan. Landmark - BMW Mini salon to the right of the road. Opposite him, across the road - 7-eleven and a small road going off to the left, which after 5.5 km will lead to the mountain. Directly at the seven or a little further, you can find a taxi in the form of a motorcycle, tuk-tuk or a car that will take you to the mountain for 70 baht. If you take a taxi from the center of Pattaya, it will cost much more, from 300 baht.
On the map
Mountain of golden buddha
Mountain of golden buddha
The largest image of Buddha on the rock. Popular attraction in Pattaya.
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The largest image of Buddha on the rock. Popular attraction in Pattaya..