Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya

Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya is an ancient Buddhist temple in Wiang Subdistrict, Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. Centered on a restored Srivijaya-style chedi believed to date from the 7th-9th century, it is one of Thailand's most important Mahayana Buddhist sites. The temple complex includes viharns, historic Buddha images, and the adjacent Chaiya National Museum, and serves as a revered pilgrimage and cultural landmark for the region.

Visitors can expect a compact, walled temple compound centered on a tall, ornate Srivijaya-style chedi with intricate stucco decoration, surrounded by cloisters, viharns and smaller shrines housing ancient Buddha images. The grounds are landscaped and quiet, with an adjacent Chaiya National Museum displaying Srivijaya artifacts, votive tablets and sculptures. Visitors can walk around the chedi platform, view religious art, make merit, and explore the museum and courtyard areas.

Believed to have been founded during the Srivijaya period (7th-9th century), Wat Phra Borommathat Chaiya is one of the few surviving Mahayana Buddhist monuments in Thailand. The central chedi, built in Srivijayan style with Javanese influence, was later restored and is regarded as one of the most important ancient chedis in southern Thailand. The site reflects Chaiya's role as a major center of Srivijaya culture and Buddhism on the Malay Peninsula.

The temple is a highly revered Buddhist pilgrimage site and the most sacred temple in Surat Thani Province. Its chedi is depicted on the provincial seal and is an emblem of southern Thai Buddhist heritage. It remains an active place of worship, merit-making and annual religious festivals, and preserves Srivijayan art and architecture for cultural education.