Wat Samphran

Wat Samphran is a temple in Nakhon Pathom province whose main structure is a bright pink cylindrical tower of sixteen storeys, around eighty metres tall, with a giant green dragon wound around it from base to top - the dragon's body forms a hollow tube containing a stairway, though that stair has been closed to the public for some time and access is now by lift or internal stairs. The temple was built in the 1980s by a monk, and there is little documentation of the design intent beyond the number sixteen corresponding to the sixteen heavens of Buddhist cosmology. Inside are shrines on the various levels, and the roof terrace at the dragon's head gives a view over flat farmland. It became widely known through social media. It is not on any tourist route, has no facilities, and receives a mixture of local worshippers and photographers. Dress code applies and the site asks visitors not to treat it purely as a backdrop.

What you actually see

• The dragon - a green body coiled around a sixteen-storey pink tower.
• The tower - around eighty metres, one storey for each Buddhist heaven.
• The roof terrace - at the dragon's head, over flat farmland.
• The shrines - on the levels through the tower.

When to go

November to February. Any time of day; it is rarely crowded. Access requires a car or taxi - there is no useful public transport.

Honest expectations

The stair inside the dragon's body is closed to visitors. No facilities and no interpretation. It is a working temple and is not set up for tourism; visitors treating it as a photo set are not welcome. Car or taxi only.

Nearby

Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom is west; Bangkok is east.