Over a hundred metres
A Buddha carved in the cliff.
Don Ramey Logan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Niceley — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cun Cun — CC BY-SA 4.0
A huge image of a seated Buddha carved into the face of a limestone cliff and outlined in gold, more than a hundred metres tall, making it one of the largest rock-carved Buddha images in the world. It was created in 1996 to mark fifty years of King Bhumibol's reign, after part of the mountain had been cut away as a quarry. The lines were first traced by laser, then carved into the rock and inlaid with gold leaf, so the image gleams in the sun and shifts in colour with the light. In front of the cliff is a broad landscaped garden with a lake, a fountain and trees, where visitors stand to admire and photograph the image from a distance, as approaching the cliff itself is not allowed. Visiting is free, and it opens in the daytime. The best times are morning or late afternoon, when the light falls on the gold. The east coast's heaviest rains fall from August to October. A striking short stop on the way to nearby Wat Yansangwararam; half an hour is enough.
A Buddha carved in the cliff.
Gleaming in the sun.
Before the cliff.
Na Jomtien, Sattahip, about 20 km south of Pattaya
No, it is viewed only from the garden in front of the cliff. Its huge size makes it perfectly clear from there.
