Wat Phra Non Chakkrasi Worawihan

The reclining Buddha at Wat Phra Non Chakkrasi Worawihan stretches roughly 47.4 metres — commonly cited as the third-largest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand — built in the Sukhothai style with its face turned north and its head to the east. The temple is a royal temple of the third class (“Worawihan” marks that rank), sitting just off the Suphan Buri-Sing Buri Road in Sing Buri province. Entry is free, open daily 08:30-17:00.

There’s no firm founding date. Local legend traces the statue to before Ayutthaya’s founding in 1351: a merchant named Thao U Thong, passing through, found a buried gold bar and was persuaded to fund the Buddha image using it as the core. What’s documented is the 1878 royal visit — King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) found the viharn and statue badly damaged, likely by storm, and funded a full restoration that finished in 1885. Walking the length of the statue inside the viharn gives a real sense of its scale in a way photos don’t; it dwarfs the wooden shutters and pillars around it.

Sing Buri itself is a small Chao Phraya river province around three hours north of Bangkok, better known outside Thailand for its giant river prawns than its temples — which is exactly why this reclining Buddha tends to surprise first-time visitors. It’s the single attraction most associated with the province, and locals will assume you’ve come specifically to see it rather than passing through.

Insider Tip: Visit before 10 AM if you want to see the viharn without a coach-tour crowd — Sing Buri gets a steady trickle of day-trippers from Bangkok, and the reclining Buddha is the one stop nearly everyone makes.

Watch out: The statue’s scale means the viharn itself is long and narrow — walk its full length rather than viewing from the entrance, or you’ll miss most of it.

Dress modestly and remove shoes before entering. Sing Buri’s other big draw, the Heroes of Khai Bang Rachan Monument and Park, tells the province’s 1767 war history and pairs well with a temple visit, and Wat Phra Prang is a smaller, quieter old temple nearby if you want a second stop.