Wat Po – Temple of the Reclining Buddha

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is also famously known around Thailand as Wat Po. This temple is situated in Phra Nakhon district in Bangkok. Actually, this temple has undergone great renovations over time. The present temple is just restored with the actual image of the temple before.

Head of the Reclining Buddha

The first construction of this magnificent temple was in the year 1788. It was renovated for the first time in the year 1824, after 36 long years had passed. In 1982, Wat Po Temple keepers again restored the great image and splendor of it so that age, humidity and weather will not hamper the preservation of this great temple of Thailand.

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha is one of the largest temples in all of Thailand. It covers an area of over 80,000 square feet. There are numerous images of the Buddha inside the temple.

The most majestic is the Reclining Buddha. People can marvel at the size of this Buddha. It is fifteen meters in height and forty six meters long.

It is a very special Buddha whose eyes are made from pure pearls. Its body is sculpted from gold plated sheets so that it will certainly yield a wealthy abundance. Even more, there are 108 promising paintings and architecture from India and China that adore its feet.

Feet of the Reclining Buddha

No one might wonder that this place was a place for healing before its construction. It was a place for Thai medicine. It was also a place for yoga practices. In fact, there are still yoga positions images in one area of the temple.

This is a memory of the many people from different nations who has been massaged with Thai practices and those who believe that yoga is good for the body. To tell even more, this temple is said to be the place where Thai massage was actually born.

This makes Wat Po a place not only for worship and thanksgiving to Buddha but a place for healing as well. As it is believed by every religion that God heals, the place sanctifies the belief as practiced by the practitioners and the visitors here.

Wat Po Mural

No one will get lost inside the temple. By the first block lies the place where there are many people. This place is where you can find the Reclining Buddha. You can expect many people of every religion there too.

In the next block lies the place where the good monks are staying. They live a peaceful life there. There is also a good school for traditional Thai massage and Thai medicine. There are students here who wants to practice the massage and medicine offered by the Thai people.

You can come to this temple for reasons like visiting Thai culture. But one of the best reasons is giving respect to the Reclining Buddha at the Wat Po temple in Bangkok.

We like Wat Po so much that we actually have it featured in two of our tours in Bangkok. Wat Pho is featured in our Grand Palace and Wat Pho half day tour.