Jao Poh Khun Sam Chon Shrine

Jao Poh Khun Sam Chon Shrine sits on Highway 105 between the km 70 and 71 markers, on the mountain road linking Tak town and Mae Sot in Tak province. It’s a modest roadside spirit shrine (san jao), not a temple complex, and it’s free to visit at any hour.

The name comes from Phor Khun Sam Chon, a figure from the traditional account of the Sukhothai kingdom’s founding: in the 13th century, Sam Chon ruled Mueang Chot — a town historians generally place at what’s now Mae Ramat district — and clashed with Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao, who later took the title Phra Ruang and became Sukhothai’s first king. Mueang Chot is widely believed to be the linguistic root of “Mae Sot,” the border town further down this same highway. The shrine itself is far more recent: locals built it around 1980, after a wealthy resident who’d suffered years of paralysis reported being told in a dream to build a shrine on this spot — he recovered soon after, and the shrine has drawn offerings from travellers on the Tak-Mae Sot road ever since.

Don’t confuse it with the much larger Jao Pho Phawo Shrine further along the same highway near the km 63 marker — that’s a separate, far more visited site with its own legend. Khun Sam Chon’s shrine is smaller and quieter, more a stop for locals making the drive than a coach-tour destination. Visitors leave incense, flowers, and small offerings at the altar, a common roadside custom on Thailand’s mountain highways where travellers pay respects for a safe journey.

Insider Tip: There’s a pull-off wide enough for a car or two right at the shrine, but it’s easy to miss at highway speed — slow down as you approach the km 70 marker heading either direction.

Watch out: This is a functioning roadside shrine with no visitor centre, fixed hours, or English signage — treat it as a brief stop rather than a planned outing, and don’t expect facilities beyond the shrine itself.

Getting there means driving the Tak-Mae Sot road yourself; there’s no dedicated bus stop, though any Tak-Mae Sot minivan or bus passes directly by it.