Wat Pa Nanachat (The International Forest Monastery)

Wat Pa Nanachat is a working Theravada forest monastery about 15 km northeast of Ubon Ratchathani, founded in 1975 by Ajahn Chah specifically to train non-Thai monks in English. It is not a sightseeing temple — there’s no admission fee, no gift shop, and no tour guides, and the daily rhythm belongs to the resident monks, not to visitors. Day visits are welcome roughly 6am to 6pm; staying overnight means writing to the guest monk in advance.

What This Place Is

Ajahn Chah, the influential forest-tradition teacher whose home monastery Wat Nong Pa Phong sits nearby in the same district, established Wat Pa Nanachat as a place where Western students could ordain and train without a language barrier. English is the working language for chanting instruction, teaching, and daily communication among the international community of monks who live here. That mission — training, not tourism — shapes every part of a visit.

If You Visit

The monastery’s day runs on a fixed schedule: chanting from 3:30am, the monks’ alms round around 6am, the single daily meal at 8am, a work period mid-morning, then evening chanting and meditation from 6:15pm. A quiet, brief visit during daylight hours is fine without arranging anything ahead — watching the alms round from a respectful distance, sitting in on a public dharma talk if one is scheduled, or simply walking the grounds among the wooden kutis (monk huts) spread through the forest. Anyone wanting to stay longer, join the full schedule, or speak with a monk at length should email the guest monk well before arriving; the monastery asks for a minimum one-week stay from overnight guests and can only host a limited number at a time.

Insider Tip: If you only have an hour, time it around the 6am alms round rather than midday — that’s when the monastery’s daily rhythm is most visible and least disrupted by a visitor standing around.

Practical

Getting there from Ubon Ratchathani takes about 20-30 minutes by taxi or tuk-tuk; there’s no direct public transport, so agree a return time with your driver before you go. Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes before entering any building, and keep your voice down — this applies to the grounds generally, not just inside the sala (meeting hall). Anyone planning to stay is asked to wear white and, for longer stays, men are asked to shave their heads.

Watch out: This is someone’s home and training ground, not an attraction. Don’t approach monks for photos, don’t interrupt chanting or meal times, and don’t treat the alms round as a photo opportunity — locals and long-term guests notice, and it undermines the reason the monastery opens its gates at all.