Wat Phra Mahathat
The Phra Borommathat chedi — southern Thailand's holiest temple, and how to visit it

There is a moment, usually as you walk in from Ratchadamnoen Road in the morning and look up, when you see it: a tall white chedi with a gold-clad spire rising into the sky, ringed by small white subsidiary chedis and the tiled roofs of the surrounding halls, with people walking quietly around it to pay their respects and some carrying a long cloth up to drape over the stupa. This is the image that has lived in the hearts of Nakhon Si Thammarat's people for generations, and it is the reason to come here before anything else.

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan is one of the holiest temples in southern Thailand and the symbol of Nakhon Si Thammarat (locals call it "Nakhon" or "Khon"), one of the oldest cities in the country and once the seat of the Tambralinga kingdom, known to foreign traders as "Ligor". Its heart is the Phra Borommathat chedi, a large Sri Lankan-style stupa about 78 m tall with a gold-clad spire, which by legend was built to enshrine a relic of the Buddha (held to be a tooth relic) brought here and laid to rest.

What sets this temple apart from a typical tourist sight is that it is a living, active place of worship, not just a monument to look at. Southerners and pilgrims from across the country come to pay their respects to the relic here every day, so the atmosphere is one of devotion rather than sightseeing. The temple also sits on Thailand's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, recognised as important evidence of Buddhism and cultural exchange across the southern peninsula — a good reason to visit it with respect for the place.

• 1
  The Phra Borommathat chedi

  The temple's centrepiece · the gold-topped Sri Lankan-style stupa

  The image that defines the whole city — the large white bell-shaped chedi with its gold-clad spire, standing in the centre of the courtyard, ringed by many small subsidiary chedis. People walk clockwise around it (circumambulation) to pay their respects, apply gold leaf and make a wish. The most heartfelt moment for many is to take part in raising a cloth around it and to feel the sacred atmosphere at the base. It is where you should begin and where you should give the most time.

• 2
  The cloth-raising ritual (Hae Pha Khuen That)

  Carrying a pha phra bot cloth up around the chedi · Makha & Visakha Bucha

  The heart of devotion here is the Hae Pha Khuen That cloth-raising ritual — people together carry a pha phra bot, a long cloth often painted with scenes from the life of the Buddha, in procession into the temple, then take it up to drape around the chedi as an offering. It is held on a large scale twice a year, on Makha Bucha and Visakha Bucha days. If you come at these times you will see the most beautiful and sacred atmosphere of all, but it is extremely crowded, so allow extra time and be ready for the heat and the crowds.

• 3
  The cloister (Phra Rabiang)

  Rows of Buddha images ringing the chedi courtyard

  Around the chedi courtyard runs the Phra Rabiang cloister, a long covered gallery lined with many Buddha images in a continuous row to walk past and pay respects to. It is shaded and calm, a place where people pause to sit and meditate between circuits of the chedi — and one of the scenes that best captures what a living, working temple feels like.

• 4
  Viharn Phra Song Ma

  Stucco reliefs · the stairway up to the terrace

  The hall beside the chedi base takes its name from the "Phra Song Ma" theme, the episode of Prince Siddhartha's Great Departure riding the horse Kanthaka. Inside are detailed stucco reliefs and ornamentation, and it forms the route up to the circumambulation terrace around the chedi base. It is one of the temple's finest displays of craftsmanship, well worth taking slowly.

• 5
  The temple museum

  Offerings and treasures donated by the faithful · within the grounds

  Within the grounds, a hall displays offerings, gold items and treasures donated to the relic by the faithful over a very long time, both ancient pieces and valuables that reflect the devotion of many eras. It helps you grasp just how much this relic means to people. There is usually a donation box or small upkeep contribution by goodwill, and it may keep set hours, so check on site.