Wat Phra Yun Phutthabat Yukhon

A Chiang Saen-style mondop at Wat Phra Yun Phutthabat Yukhon shelters a pair of Buddha footprints set together on a single lotus-shaped pedestal roughly 1.5 metres high — the paired footprints (yukhon means “pair”) that give the temple its full name. It’s an old site in Thung Yang subdistrict, Uttaradit’s Laplae district, and by local tradition contemporary with the town’s other major sacred buildings.

The main prayer hall holds a bronze Buddha image seated in the Maravijaya pose — Luang Pho Buddha Rangsi — alongside the footprint mondop itself, which is the building most worshippers come specifically to visit. The mondop’s raised, tiered design is typical of Chiang Saen-era religious architecture from the old Lanna sphere, a noticeably different look from the more ornate central-Thai temple roofs found further south in the country. Local devotees visit to pay respects at the footprints and make offerings of incense and lotus flowers at the hall.

Wat Phra Yun Phutthabat Yukhon is one of three temples clustered in Thung Yang that locals treat as a linked pilgrimage route — alongside Wat Phra Borommathat Thung Yang and Wat Phra Taen Sila At, which holds an ancient stone platform where all five Buddhas of this era are said, in local tradition, to have meditated. That stone platform matters beyond religious circles too — its image was chosen for Uttaradit’s own provincial seal, which gives a sense of how central these three Thung Yang temples are to local identity, not just to pilgrims passing through. Visitors doing a Thung Yang temple circuit typically cover all three in a single trip since they sit within a short drive of each other.

Insider Tip: Combine this temple with Wat Phra Borommathat Thung Yang and Wat Phra Taen Sila At in one visit — locals treat the three as a single pilgrimage route through Thung Yang, and driving between them takes only a few minutes each.

Watch out: Never point your feet toward the footprint mondop or any Buddha image — sit cross-legged or with feet tucked behind you if you sit down near the shrine.

The temple is a working place of worship rather than a museum, so keep noise down and expect to see local devotees in prayer during your visit.