Wat Pho is home to a Buddha so big they had to build the temple around it. The Reclining Buddha stretches 46 metres long and 15 metres high, its entire surface covered in gold leaf, its feet inlaid with 108 mother-of-pearl panels depicting auspicious symbols. The smile on its face is the most serene thing in Bangkok, which is saying something in a city that rarely stops moving.
But Wat Pho isn't just about one very large statue. It's Thailand's first public university, predating the current monarchy, and the national headquarters of traditional Thai massage. That's not a tourist gimmick — the massage school here has been training practitioners since the reign of Rama III, and the techniques are inscribed on stone tablets throughout the complex. You can get a one-hour traditional massage for about 300 baht in the on-site pavilion, worked on by students who take this extremely seriously.
The temple compound contains over 1,000 Buddha images and 91 stupas, making it the largest collection in Thailand. Most tourists beeline for the Reclining Buddha and miss the quiet courtyards behind it, where stone figures of bearded Europeans in top hats serve as guardians — they were sculpted from the ballast stones of Chinese trading ships and represent the foreigners that Thai artists found amusing enough to immortalise in stone.
Verified Facts
The Reclining Buddha is 46 metres long and 15 metres high
Wat Pho is considered Thailand's first public university
The temple contains over 1,000 Buddha images
The feet of the Reclining Buddha have 108 mother-of-pearl panels
Wat Pho houses the national headquarters of traditional Thai massage
Get walking directions
2 Sanam Chai Road, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
