Chalong Temple (Wat Chalong)

Chalong Temple is the largest of Phuket's temples, and the most visited. Locals come to pray and pay respects to the founders of Wat Chalong, among them Luang Pho Cham and Luang Pho Chuang, 2 monks who were well known for herbal medicine and took care of local villagers and negotiated for a settlement during a chinese miners rebellion in the 1870's.



Wat Chalong a big place, with several buildings including the main temple, with statues of the revered monks where people can pray, apply gold leaf to the statues, light incense and candles etc.. There is another building with a tall tower, in which one finds painted walls with scenes from the life of Buddha and many Buddha images. At the top of the tower is what is said to be a fragement of bone of Buddha himself. There is also an airconditioned building containing waxworks of the monks.

 

 

The views from the tower are nice, across the temple grounds looking towards the hills. You can see Buddha Mountain and Radar Hill from here.

 

Wat Chalong is well worth a visit, though if you want a quiet time, I would suggest going early morning or late afternoon, as it can be rather busy with locals and tourists alike. It's really the only temple on the Phuket tourist trail, and tours tend to arrive there from 10am - 2pm. We went yesterday at midday and it was buzzing! There is a yearly fair at the temple around Chinese New Year (see links below).

The temple is located between Phuket Town and Chalong. The road runs from Central Festival to Chalong circle. If you want a good half day tour, you can combine Chalong temple with some of the small beaches in the SW corner of Phuket along with Laem Phromthep, a drive up one of the hills mentioned above (good for sunsets) or a walk down Chalong Jetty.

• More Photos of Chalong Temple
• More Temples in Phuket
• Chalong Temple Fair
• Wat Chalong on Google Earth