Heading off the road and into Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan, you could be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into Disneyland rather than being in rural Thailand between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. With its calming gardens, elegant temple, brightly painted statues, many large Buddha and other statues and an elevated skywalk, Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan will leave you in awe as you wander around the temple complex. As we entered the temple, we literally stood in the entrance courtyard with amazement at what we saw. Right from the outset you could feel that this temple visit was going to be different from the many other temples in Thailand.
Walking across the large entry courtyard, your eyes go immediately to the large Buddha statue with his rotund stomach and pink fingernails, gazing forlornly over the courtyard. Your attention is then attracted to the guardian-like figure at the bottom of a long staircase leading into the temple. Heading up the stairs and through the sky-painted structure, a monk greeted us and welcomed us to explore, for no charge, the beautiful complex.
We headed first to what I will call the ‘Bell Tower’. Up the narrow stairs you will find a compass painted on the floor, underneath a large, red and very heavy bell. From there you can see the large Buddha statue at the end of the complex and you will get your first glimpse of the Skywalk around his feet.
Heading down the stairs you will wander through a misted garden, feeling as if you have stepped into one of those fancy cafes you find in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Google Maps calls it the Magical Garden. Take some time to explore the garden before heading to the small temple that is close by. Here you will find an array of smaller golden Buddha statues in front of a larger golden Buddha facing out, over the splendid red carpet, into the garden.
Wandering further into the temple complex you will come across a slightly chaotic collection of oil lamps, smaller Buddha statues and groceries. There was a small shop at which you could buy a few snacks, but we were too interested in further exploring the temple.
Heading up the stairs you will soon see a long line of ornately colored statues, where you could easily spend 30 minutes taking photos of each of them. I was immediately drawn to the statue of the purple warrior on the back of a tiger-like creature. However, being a hot afternoon and wanting to see as much of the temple as possible, we continued further towards the Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan Skywalk.
Further up the path towards the Big Buddha, you will find more brightly colored statues, this time set in a circular layout, almost as if they are in some sort of weird cosmic conference. At the bottom of the stairs, you will find two large, brightly colored statues of deities, one pink and the other purple. The figures are depicted in intricate detail, adorned with elaborate clothing and jewelry. You will certainly want to pause for a few minutes and reflect on the beauty with which they were created.
The Big Buddha beckons, and you head up the stairs towards three large golden statues. Your camera will be spoiled for choice as you wander around admiring the beautifully colored statues glistening in the sun.
How about some striking purple socks to round out your visit? If you are interested in visiting the Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan Skywalk, look for the lady selling tickets for 40 baht each. She will give you a pair of purple shoe covers for your visit, so you do not scratch the glass of the skywalk. Heading to the entry of the skywalk, you will continue to be thrilled by the glorious colors as you make your way to the top of the skywalk for a close-up view of the largest Buddha in the complex. The views from the skywalk, over the Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan complex and into the surrounding countryside, could have you standing there for 10 minutes contemplating your good fortune at finding such a beautiful spot in rural Thailand.
After your visit to the Skywalk, make you that you visit the magical colored rooms under the Big Buddha. What they have done is paint each room with light-sensitive paint so that as the light color changes every 15 seconds or so, different images appear on the walls.
ChatGPT says the following about the brightly colored rooms under the large Buddha statue at Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan: ‘The brightly colored room under the Big Buddha at Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan near Chiang Rai is known as the ‘Naga Hall’ or ‘Naga Shrine’. This area features vibrant murals and intricate designs, depicting various Buddhist symbols and stories, and is a significant part of the temple’s artistic appeal’.
We spent around 40 minutes in these rooms and we were the only tourists there when we visited. See if you can spot the same images on the walls as the ones that I have included in the photos with this blog post.
Having spent close to three hours at Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan, we walked back to the parking area, a little down the road from the main entrance to the complex, past the various colored statues and through the Magical Garden, past the Bell Tower and through the blue-sky painted entrance, down the stairs and past the Buddha with the pink fingernails, reflecting on an afternoon of great joy that we had visiting a unique temple complex in rural Thailand.
You can find the temple on Google maps here: Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan. You could easily spend three hours or more at Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan so take that into account when planning your journey between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We could have visited for longer than three hours but unfortunately we arrived mid-afternoon and we still had over an hour to drive to our hotel in Chiang Rai, the Riva Vista Riverside Resort & Spa. As it was, we arrived to Chiang Rai just as it was getting dark and much later than planned.
As we drove away I wondered why so few tourists go out of their way to visit this magnificent temple complex. Make sure to add Wat Sang Kaew Phothiyan to your travel plans between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Also consider other things to do in Chiang Rai by reading our blog posts.
While in Chiang Rai, we stayed at the quite lovely Riva Vista Riverside Resort & Spa. Considering reading our blog post entitled Riva Vista Resort & Spa – Luxury Chiang Rai Hideaway. Otherwise we could consider one of the hotels below with booking.com or with Agoda.
Booking.comIf you are looking for day tours around Chiang Rai, consider booking with GetYourGuide. Start your planning by considering one of the tours shown below.
Our other posts on Thailand may be found here.
(Visited February 2025)