Wat Ban Noi

Wat Ban Noi is a small working temple in Ban Noi village, Pho Thale district, on the western side of Phichit province. It was founded around 1906 under the name Wat Sri Suwankosit Aram, and received royal sanction to mark its ordination boundary (sima) in 1920 — the ubosot inside that boundary measures 20 by 40 metres, modest by the standards of Thailand’s larger provincial temples.

The village itself carries an older story. It was originally settled under a different name a couple of kilometres away, until a cholera outbreak emptied much of the community; the handful of families who stayed renamed the settlement Ban Noi — “small village” — and the name stuck for both the community and the temple that grew up within it.

Inside the ordination hall sit three Buddha images that locals date to roughly 1,000 years old: Luang Pho To, Luang Pho Khiao, and Luang Pho Khao. They’re the reason a temple this size gets any visitors at all — there’s no elaborate mural cycle or landmark chedi here, just three old, quietly revered statues and the daily rhythm of a rural Buddhist community. Around ten monks live at the temple today, part of a line of eleven abbots since it was founded.

Insider Tip: Call ahead (0 5665 9223) if you want someone to show you the three old Buddha images specifically — they’re not signposted for visitors, and a monk or temple caretaker will usually walk you through on request.

Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees — and remove your shoes before entering the ubosot. There’s no fee and no locked gate; the temple keeps daily hours of roughly 07:00 to 17:00. It sits in Pho Thale district, one of several small temple villages in this part of Phichit; Wat Hirunyaram and the lakeside park at Bueng Si Fai both make reasonable pairings if you’re touring Phichit’s smaller sights rather than just passing through on the highway.