Wat Sup Prairo

Mo’s family lives in the South Western area of Petchaboon in the Amphoe of  Wichian Buri, more specifically the family lives in the Tambon of Sap Noi. In order to get to the family farm one needs to go down a very long dirt road about 20 miles, at about the halfway point you’ll see a very large statue of Buddha near the roadside and a few minor statues but not much more. This would be the entrance to Wat Sup Prairo.

I didn’t see the normal Wat buildings that I thought should be there set back against the mountains, instead I only saw a dirt parking area and a place to sit and relax. It wasn’t until we pulled in that I realized there was going to be some climbing involved, nothing treacherous but certainly steep and much without railings or guardrails. As I looked down there was indeed a Wat building surrounded by canopies due to a religious event taking place that day.

The lower part of the steep walkway up the mountain does have some handrails but only for a short way. Apparently up until 3 years ago the only way to the upper Wat was by traversing bamboo ladders up the side of the mountain. While there are steps of a sort now the majority is very steep and cut roughly into the mountain. The journey up was tiring on legs not used to steep ascents but there were ample areas to rest with stunning views.

Finally as you near the top of the mountain a deck juts out of the mountainside and just beyond that is the entrance to the caves. Around the entrance to the caves are statues, Buddhist flags and several elephant heads carved/concreted into the mountainside. As you enter the cave it appears at first that the temple is a small 2 room affair but when you walk around the corner to the second room you notice a winding pathway going down into the mountain.

Tomorrow I’ll take you into the caves and show you some stunning sights that Wat Sup Prairo has to offer and you’ll get to meet a new friend I made named Cantaloop.