Wat Chalong

Wat Chaithararam, always called Wat Chalong, is the largest and most venerated temple on Phuket, and its standing comes from an episode in 1876 when Chinese tin miners on the island rose in revolt: the abbot Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang treated the wounded on both sides and were credited with helping to end the fighting, and both are honoured with images at the temple that visitors gild with gold leaf. The site now includes a large ordination hall, a museum with wax figures of the two monks, and the Grand Pagoda, a sixty-metre chedi completed in the 2000s holding a splinter of bone said to be a relic of the Buddha, with murals through its interior levels and a terrace at the top. Firecrackers are let off in a brick kiln at the entrance when vows are fulfilled, which is loud and constant. It is free, very busy with tour groups, and dress code is enforced.

What you actually see

• The Grand Pagoda - a sixty-metre chedi with murals and a terrace.
• The two monks - images of Luang Pho Chaem and Chuang, gilded by visitors.
• The firecracker kiln - vows repaid loudly at the entrance.
• The 1876 story - the miners' rebellion the temple's standing rests on.

When to go

November to April. Early morning avoids the tour groups that fill it from mid-morning. One to two hours covers the halls and the pagoda.

Honest expectations

Very busy with organised tours. The firecrackers are genuinely loud and go off without warning. Dress code is enforced at the entrance with wraps lent. Free, with heavy donation solicitation.

Nearby

Chalong pier and the Racha boats are south; Big Buddha and Phuket Town are north.