Wat Phu Tok

Introducing Wat Phu Tok

Accessed via a network of rickety staircases built in, on and around a giant sandstone outcrop, Wat Phu Tok (6.30am-5pm, closed 10-16 April) is one of the region’s true wonders, with fabulous vistas over the surrounding countryside and a truly soporific atmosphere. Six levels of steps, plus a seventh-level scramble up roots and rocks to the thick forest at the summit, represent the seven factors of enlightenment in Buddhist psychology. Monastic kùtì (meditation huts) are scattered around the mountain, in caves and on cliffs. It is the cool and quiet isolation of this wat that entices monks and mâe chii from all over the northeast to come and meditate here – many of them do so on the summit, so be quiet and respectful up there.

This wat used to be the domain of the famous meditation master Ajahn Juan, a disciple of the fierce Ajahn Man who died in 1949. Ajahn Juan died in a plane crash in 1980 along with several other highly revered forest monks who were flying to Bangkok for Queen Sirikit’s birthday celebration. A marble chedi containing his belongings and some bone relics sits below the mountain.

Visitors who impress the monks by acting and dressing respectfully are permitted to stay the night here. Dorms are single sex and you should not forget that this is a holy place. Another, perhaps better, option is the homestay programme (08 6086 1221; per person 200B) in Ban Kom Kan Phat Tana, the village just outside the wat. Just ask around and you’ll get pointed in the right direction.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009