Description
Wat Pa Na Kharam (วัดป่านาคาราม) is a lovely forest temple, just down the road from Wat Khok Lo Noi Wanaram, with its large Reclining Buddha statue. If you are visiting the temple after viewing the Reclining Buddha, it would be worth traveling the winding rural roads a bit further down to visit Wat Sapansri also, as it is both a gorgeous temple and nearby Highway 22, which will take you wherever you want to go next in Sakon Nakhon.
Instead of having fearsome Naga statues guarding the entrance to Wat Pa Na Kharam (as so many Sakon Nakhon temples do), there is a long python like snake sculpture that runs along the ground next to the entrance wall. The temple grounds are quite large, and there is lots of shady areas to walk around, meditate, and escape the heat of a Sakon Nakhon afternoon.
While there are no Nagas at the entrance of Wat Pa Na Kharam, there are two Naga protectors watching over the entrance to a beautiful Buddhist pavilion on a small pond, which you can view if you turn left after walking about 100 meters through the temple entrance. There is also a large Viharn (Assembly Hall) with Buddhist statues of different shapes and sizes, and various poses.
The Kutis (or monk dwellings) have a charming, rustic wood appearance, and are perfectly designed to blend in with the woody surroundings. Nearby one of the Kutis is a beautiful gold Buddha on a pink lotus flower pedestal, the shades of pink and gold being perfectly chose to blend together for a striking appearance.
