Wat Cherngtalay

Wat Cherngtalay (Choeng Thale) is a Theravada Buddhist Temple located in Cherngtalay near Laguna Beach on Phuket Island. Beautiful, quiet, and peaceful, Wat Cherngtalay is a lovely place to go and reset your mind from the stress of Phuket’s city streets and life in general.

As with other Buddhist temples in Thailand, you can find interesting architectural design and artwork on the outside of the buildings as well as on the walls inside the temple itself. There are elaborate scenes of daily life in Thailand as well as of the Buddha and his interactions with disciples – including monks and laypersons. Even the light posts have been designed using Buddhist figures holding the lights.

There is a special shrine for followers of Phra Luang Phor Tuad, with some photos (images) and statues, plus a place to burn incense sticks (toop).

Many foreign visitors to Thailand’s Buddhist temples wonder if there is anything particular to do during a visit. Not necessarily! Usually people just come to wander around, take photos and gaze at the artwork, which is sometime really quite elaborate. Some find a quiet place to meditate or pray, but take note that is not always as easy as you might think. The temple is often alive with sounds and distractions, not to mention temple stray dogs which call the temple a home and can be quite territorial.

The location of Cherngtalay Temple is on the west coast of Phuket Island in the small Cherngtalay (Choeng Thale) area just east of Laguna Beach, which is north of Surin Beach and just south of the Sirinat National Park.

* Nine Google reviewers gave the temple a 4.3 out of 5-star rating, which is a better than average recommendation to come visit and appreciate the environment and atmosphere, if you’re into walking around Buddhist temples.