Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaeo

Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaeo, also known as Wat Lan Khuat or the Temple of a Million Bottles, is a Buddhist temple in Khun Han District, Sisaket Province, northeastern Thailand. Constructed using approximately 1.5 million recycled glass bottles, it is notable for its innovative use of waste materials. The complex includes a main chapel, pagoda, crematorium and other structures decorated with green and brown bottles, demonstrating creative reuse and environmental awareness within a functioning monastery.

Visitors can expect a functioning Buddhist temple complex where nearly all structures, including the main chapel (ubosot), pagoda, crematorium, shelters, and walls are decorated with embedded green Heineken and brown Chang beer bottles. Bottle caps are used for mosaics. The grounds are landscaped with bottle-decorated walkways and gardens. Visitors can walk through the chapel, view bottle mosaics, observe monastic areas, and take photographs of the distinctive architecture in a quiet rural setting.

Construction began in 1984 when monks led by Phra Khru Vivek Dharmajahn sought to address waste and promote recycling by collecting discarded glass bottles from the local community. Over time, with community donations, approximately 1.5 million bottles were used to build and decorate the ubosot, chedi, crematorium and other structures, creating a distinctive example of reuse architecture.

The temple is a functioning Theravada Buddhist monastery and a noted example of environmental awareness in Thai Buddhism, demonstrating the principle of mindful reuse of materials. It serves as a religious center for merit-making and meditation and is recognized as a cultural attraction for its creative bottle architecture.