Wat Thaton

Tha Ton temple is located above Tha Ton village and the Kok River. Tha Ton is on the much travelled tourist route between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Since the 1970s, riverboat trips between Chiang Rai and Tha Ton have given foreign tourists as well as native Thais the opportunity to visit jungle, meet different ethnic groups, and see the Fang Plain. In the 1980s, this trend continued with the building of several small resorts to accommodate tourists. The temple site is a multi-level complex with different statues, stupas and a meditation centre and a pagoda on the top. The north edge of town is all that separates Tha Ton from the border and Burma’s Shan State. The temple includes a collection of shrines, statues, Buddha images both Thai and Chinese styles, seated and standing and offers impressive views over the huge and colourful hilltop pagoda. A lot of hilltop temples feature in this mountainous part of the country.