Wat Pa-Ko

Wat Pa-Ko, on Khao Pha Kho hill in Sathing Phra district, is where the monk remembered as Luang Pu Thuad is said to have lived — the same figure credited in Thai folk legend with turning seawater fresh by stepping into it. The temple’s formal name is Wat Ratchapradittharn, but almost everyone, including the road signs, still calls it by the older name.

The hilltop compound holds a gold reclining Buddha (Phra Phuttha Sai Yat) roughly 18 metres long and 2.5 metres high, the Chedi Si Rattana Mahathat — said to enshrine relics brought from Sri Lanka — and a small shrine built around a footprint attributed to Luang Pu Thuad. A museum on site, opened in 1993, displays Buddha images, ceramics, brassware, knives, betel-nut boxes, old currency, and other objects connected to the monk’s life and legend.

Wat Pa-Ko sits on the narrow Sathing Phra peninsula, in Songkhla province, with the Gulf of Thailand on one side and Songkhla Lake on the other — a genuinely quiet stretch of coast about 48 kilometres from Songkhla town. Morning visits catch the temple before the heat builds on the exposed hilltop; the museum keeps shorter hours than the temple grounds, so check it’s open before making the trip specifically for the exhibits.

Insider Tip: Sathing Phra Beach (Maharat Beach) is in the same district and makes a natural add-on if you’re already making the drive out from Songkhla town.

Entry is free, and the temple grounds are open daily from 07:00 to 18:00. Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees — for the shrine and prayer halls, and bring water; there’s limited shade on the hilltop approach. A car or motorbike is the practical way to reach it, since the site sits well outside Songkhla’s main public transport routes.