Wat Pa Pradu

📍 Location of Wat Pa Pradu 🚘 Directions to Wat Pa Pradu

About Wat Pa Pradu

The temple, a significant landmark in Rayong, is a place of spiritual solace. It is a sanctuary where one can alleviate life's stresses and leave with a fully restored heart, soul, and mind. Despite its unspectacular appearance to some, the temple holds a rich history dating back around 400 years. The only remaining structure from the Ayutthaya period is a Chinese style Ubosot, with all other buildings being more recent additions. The temple is not a typical tourist spot, but rather a place popular with the locals.

One of the main attractions of the temple is the Wat Pa Pradu, a complex of temples and buildings that provide an interesting insight into Thai culture, religion, and art. The rich red and gold coloring and ornate architecture of the buildings are a sight to behold. The temple traces its origins back to the Ayutthaya era, but many additions and renovations have been made over the years. One such addition is the temple that houses a reclining Buddha, built in 1981.

The reclining Buddha is a unique feature of the temple. Measuring nearly 12 meters long and nearly four meters high, the Buddha is unusual in that it lies on its left side, as opposed to the usual right side. It is heavily coated with gold leaf, pasted on by generations of the faithful. This left-sided reclining Buddha is a special attraction and a must-visit for anyone coming to Rayong.

The temple is also known for its convenience, especially for those visiting on weekends. The current car park is very convenient for those who cannot visit the temple from Monday to Friday. The temple is home to an 11.95-meter-long left-sided reclining Buddha image, which many people come to worship.

Despite the sentiment that once you have seen a dozen Thai Buddhist temples, you have seen them all, Wat Pa Pradu is worth a brief visit if you happen to be in Rayong. It is an old and historic temple, built during the Ayuthaya period, making it anything up to 300 or 400 years old. The reclining Buddha, nearly 12 m long and 3.6 m high, is rare in that it lies right to left, not the normal left to right. This makes it a particularly revered Buddha image, as attested by the layers of gold leaf that have been pasted on it over the centuries by devout Buddhists.

Next to the temple is the Wat Pa Pradu School, one of the leading high schools in Rayong. You can easily find Wat Pa Pradu. Drive up or down Thanom Sukhumvit, which is the main road through the center of town. When you see the high rise Rayong Hospital, you will see the school next to it. The temple is located behind the school. This temple, with its rich history and unique features, is a place that offers a glimpse into the spiritual and cultural life of the locals in Rayong.