Built about two centuries ago, the Reclining Buddha statue is located at the Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand. The Buddha statue is 46 meters in length and 15 meters in height. The reclining image of Buddha resembles the moments before his attaining enlightenment or ‘nirvana’. It is imagined that Buddha had lived in an Indian monastery named Wat Pho, and thus the name used here to remember his moments in India. Before turning to the temple, the location was used as a center for teaching traditional Thai medicine and is also considered as the oven of Thai massage. A large Buddha statue was ruined by the Burmese during the reign of King Rama I in 1767, and since then the temple and associated establishments experienced a god number of renovation attempts at different times.

A bodhi tree (brought from India) is planted at the garden beside the Reclining Buddha temple and it is believed that Buddha sat under the tree while he was waiting for his nirvana. The latest renovation of the temple occurred in 1982. The Wat Pho houses over 1000 Buddha images which is the largest collection in Thailand and majority of the images are gathered from the former ruined capitals. There are numbers of inscriptions and various types of statues are exhibited at the temple. The library of the temple in enriched with religious and sacred books and materials. The temple is also a center of traditional Thai massage and massages are done on hourly basis in exchange of Thai Bahts, and learning of Traditional Thai massage in academic course forms is also available.

Get there by MRT Subway, river boat, taxi or tuk tuk. There is no BTS Sky Train station in the area.

MRT Subway:

MRT Subway station Sanam Chai which opened July 2019 is in walking distance from the Wat Pho. Exit the train station on Sanam Chai Road and walk North for about 500 meters.

River Boat:

If you are near the river you can quickly get there by Chao Phraya express river boat. Take an orange flag boat to Tha Tien pier. It is a very short walk from the pier.

• Respectful attire is required. Wat Pho is a functioning Thai Buddhist temple, and a such the management insists that visitors dress in a respectful manner. This means that men must wear long pants and short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirts (no tank tops or sleeveless shirts). Women must wear skirts or pants extending at least to the knee, and also should not wear a top that reveals bare shoulders.
• Visitors are allowed to take photographs in any area of the complex.
• It is recommended that you wear shoes that can be easily removed as you’ll need to take them off when entering any structure in the complex.