Ban Dato Mosque (Dato Mosque)

Ban Dato Mosque — also called Masjid Dato or Masjid Darunnaaim — is one of Pattani’s oldest mosques, standing for more than 200 years in Ban Dato village. Its Middle Eastern-style dome, rounded arches and cylindrical columns set it apart from the timber Malay style used elsewhere in the region. Admission is free.

Experience

The mosque’s name traces back to “Dato Payeng,” a brass merchant who, according to local legend, was executed for defying the provincial governor’s ban on brass sales during a period when the metal was needed for cannon casting. The surrounding village and graveyard carry the same name, so the oral history and the physical setting reinforce each other on a visit — walk from the mosque to the nearby graves and you’re tracing the same story.

The Fine Arts Department surveyed and registered the mosque as an ancient monument in 1935, dating its construction to roughly the same era as Krue Se Mosque in Pattani town. A later restoration by Phraya Phipithasena Mati, governor of Yaring, added a minaret tower and an octagonal structure in front of the main prayer hall; a further extension went up in 1977, and the Fine Arts Department carried out a major restoration in 1996. The mosque has stayed in active use for prayer throughout — this isn’t a museum piece, it’s a working neighbourhood mosque that happens to be centuries old. The site sits close to where trading vessels once anchored, before the coastline shifted — a reminder that Ban Dato’s mosque, village and harbour grew up together as one community.

Atmosphere & Timing

The compound is quiet outside of prayer times, shaded by the trees around the adjoining graveyard, with the working village of Ban Dato going about its business around it.

Insider Tip: Photography is generally fine in the outdoor compound, but ask before stepping inside the prayer hall, and time a visit around prayer times rather than during one — Friday midday prayers draw the fullest congregation and aren’t the moment for a casual look around.

Practical

Watch out: Pattani is part of Thailand’s deep south, which has experienced sporadic security incidents for two decades. Most visits pass without any issue — travel in daylight, stick to main roads, and check current advisories before setting out. See our Pattani travel guide for more context.

Ban Dato Mosque sits about 19 km from Pattani town via Yaring — roughly 10 km from Yaring District Hall itself — on the same road that leads to Hat Talo-Kapo Beach, and close to Laem Ta Chi in the same Laem Pho subdistrict, making it a natural stop on a day covering Yaring’s coast and heritage sites. Dress modestly — long trousers and sleeves, and a headscarf for women — before entering the prayer hall.