TL;DR: The Big Buddha Phuket is a 45-meter white marble statue on top of Nakkerd Hill, reopened since March 2026 after an 18-month closure tied to a fatal landslide nearby. Entry is free (donations welcomed, not required), the dress code covers shoulders and knees, and the access road is a steep, paved 5.5-6km climb off Chaofa West Road near Chalong Circle. Budget 45 minutes to 2 hours, go for the panoramic views over Chalong Bay and Kata, and pair it with nearby Wat Chalong for a half-day out.
The Big Buddha is one of the most photographed landmarks in southern Phuket: a gleaming white statue visible from beaches and boats for miles, sitting on a ridge that also happens to be one of the island’s best viewpoints. It’s a straightforward visit once you know two things: entry is free, and the road up is steeper than it looks on a map. This guide covers what the statue is, its 2026 reopening after a landslide-related closure, what it costs, the dress code, how to get up the hill safely, and how to pair it with Wat Chalong down the road.
Prices below are in Thai baht (THB) with US dollars in parentheses, converted at ฿33 = US$1 (July 2026). For the rest of a southern Phuket day trip, see outthailand.com’s things to do in Phuket guide and the getting around Phuket guide for scooter rental and road-safety basics beyond this one hill.
Quick facts
| Cost | Free entry; donations welcomed (commonly ฿20-100 / US$0.60-3) |
| Hours | Reported as roughly 6:30am-6:30pm to 9am-6pm depending on the source; check on arrival |
| Getting there | ~5.5-6km access road off Chaofa West Road, 1km north of Chalong Circle; ~15 min from Chalong, ~25 min from Kata |
| Time needed | 45 minutes to 1.5-2 hours |
| Dress code | Shoulders and knees covered; free sarongs at the entrance |
| Status (2026) | Reopened March 3, 2026, after an 18-month closure |
What is the Big Buddha in Phuket?
The Big Buddha, officially Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Akenakiri, is a 45-meter-tall, roughly 25-meter-wide seated Buddha statue on top of Nakkerd Hill in southern Phuket, near Chalong. It’s built from white Burmese marble over a concrete core, giving it the smooth, pale look that sets it apart from Thailand’s older bronze and gilded Buddha images. It ranks among Thailand’s largest Buddha statues and is visible from parts of Kata, Chalong Bay, and boats well offshore, which is why many visitors spot it from the beach and decide to see it up close.
The surrounding grounds include a lower terrace with smaller shrines and a temple building, Wat Kitthi Sankaram, near the base of the hill, plus alms bowls, donation points, and a modest gift and refreshment area near the car park.
Is the Big Buddha open right now, and what happened to it?
Yes, as of mid-2026 the site is open, though it’s worth knowing the recent history. In August 2024, a landslide near Kata Beach killed 13 people and triggered a wider safety review of the hillside, leading authorities to close the Big Buddha site during structural and environmental checks. The closure lasted roughly 18 months. The site briefly reopened for three days around New Year 2026, closed again, then reopened for good on March 3, 2026, for Makha Bucha Day, and has remained open since. Given that history, a quick same-week check with your hotel is still worth doing before you build a whole day around it.
How much does it cost to visit the Big Buddha?
Nothing, technically. There’s no entrance ticket or gate fee for any nationality. The site is maintained through visitor donations: 32 alms bowls sit around the statue’s base alongside donation boxes tied to the marble-tile inscription project and the monks’ temple fund. A contribution of ฿20-100 (US$0.60-3) per person, in small notes, is the culturally normal gesture, but nobody checks or requires it, and change isn’t handed out at the bowls.
What are the opening hours?
Current sources genuinely disagree, worth stating plainly rather than picking one number and presenting it as certain. Some guides list roughly 6:30am to 6:30pm; others cite 9am to 6pm; a few older listings still show 6am to 7:30pm. Hours appear to have shifted around the March 2026 reopening and haven’t fully settled across sources since. Treat any single figure as approximate, and if you’re timing a visit around sunrise, sunset, or a tight schedule, check the posted hours at the gate or ask your hotel that same day.
What is the dress code?
The Big Buddha sits on active temple grounds, so the dress code is enforced the same way it is at any working Thai temple: shoulders and knees covered, ruling out sleeveless tops, tank tops, and shorts or skirts above the knee near the statue’s base or the temple building below. Free sarongs and shawls are available at the entrance for anyone who shows up underdressed, so it’s an easy fix, not a reason to turn back, though expect a short queue on a busy day. Shoes typically come off before entering shrine buildings, so sandals are easier to manage than lace-up shoes.
How do I get to the Big Buddha from Chalong, Rawai, or Kata?
However you’re coming from, you’ll join the same access road off Chaofa West Road, roughly 1km north of Chalong Circle, then climb about 5.5-6km up Nakkerd Hill to the car park.
- From Chalong Circle: about 15 minutes by car or scooter, the shortest approach.
- From Rawai: roughly 20-25 minutes, routing through or near Chalong first.
- From Kata: around 25 minutes.
- From Karon: around 30 minutes; a separate 2km hiking trail with about 300 meters of elevation gain also climbs from the Karon side for anyone who wants to walk up instead of drive.
Taxi, Grab, and Bolt all serve the site, and self-driving by rental car or scooter (commonly ฿200-300/day, roughly US$6-9) is the other common option. There’s no public bus route to the summit. Parking at the top is free and generally spacious, though it fills up in the late afternoon during high season.
Is the road up dangerous? What should scooter riders know?
The road is paved and clearly marked, but genuinely steep, with hairpin turns concentrated in the final kilometer before the car park. Most descriptions agree the descent is more demanding than the climb, since gravity works against you on the way down. If you’re not a confident hill rider, or new to driving in Thailand, take a taxi or Grab instead, particularly in the rain or after dark. Riders who self-drive should keep speeds low and use a lower gear on the descent rather than riding the brakes, and should expect some Grab and taxi drivers to be reluctant to pick up from the summit in late afternoon, when descending traffic builds up. See outthailand.com’s getting around Phuket guide for scooter licensing and helmet rules before renting one for this trip.
What views do you get from the top?
This is the other reason people make the climb. From the viewpoint terrace, you get a genuinely panoramic outlook: Chalong Bay and its anchored boats directly below, Kata and Karon’s coastline curving away west, Phuket Town’s rooftops inland, and on a clear day the limestone islands of Phang Nga Bay in the distance. At close to 400 meters elevation, it’s one of the highest accessible viewpoints in southern Phuket, hazier at midday and more dramatic in late afternoon light.
Honest downsides: what to expect before you go
The climb involves stairs (commonly cited around 94 steps from the lower terrace), and there’s essentially no shade across the open terrace or car park, so midday visits in the dry season get genuinely hot with nowhere to cool off until you’re back in a vehicle. The dress-code enforcement is real, not a suggestion, so arriving in beach clothes means queuing for a sarong or being turned away from the closer areas. Long-tailed macaques are present and used to visitors; don’t leave food or drinks unattended, and don’t offer food by hand. Given the closure history over 2024-2026, a same-week check on hours and access is still worth doing, especially in wet season when the road is more likely to see maintenance closures after heavy rain.
Best time to visit
Morning is the more comfortable option: cooler air, softer light, and easier parking before tour groups arrive. Late afternoon, roughly the last 60-90 minutes before closing, is the other popular window, when the light is warmer and the bay views take on more color, though the car park and descent road both get busiest with departing visitors then. Either way, avoid arriving right at whatever the currently posted opening or closing time is, since hours have moved around recently.
Pairing the Big Buddha with Wat Chalong
The Big Buddha is rarely the only stop on a southern Phuket day out. Wat Chalong, the island’s largest and most important temple complex, sits roughly 8km away, about a 15-minute drive back toward Chalong Circle, making the two an easy half-day pairing: one for the hillside statue and the view, the other for a fuller look at an active, ornately decorated temple complex with its own dress code and donation customs. Many taxi and tour bookings already bundle the two together, and it’s just as easy to do the same self-driving, stopping at Wat Chalong on the way up or down.
For everything else worth building into the day, see outthailand.com’s things to do in Phuket guide. For a base within easy reach of both the Big Buddha and Chalong, check the where to stay in Phuket guide, and pair the hill with a street-level contrast in the Phuket Old Town guide. Once you’re back down, see what’s on nearby at outthailand.com’s live Phuket events.
Sources
- Phuket101: Big Buddha Phuket Reopened In 2026: reopening date, closure history, hours, dress code, road/parking detail, statue dimensions
- LifeWithVetta: Big Buddha Phuket Guide 2026: 2024 landslide closure, brief January 2026 reopening, hours range, dress code, visit duration, views
- Happiness on the Way: Big Buddha Phuket Dress Code, Entrance Fee, Hike & More: hours, dress code detail, sarong availability, access trails from Chalong/Karon, statue material and size, macaque caution
- Northabroad: Phuket Big Buddha guide: hours, drive times from Kata/Karon/Chalong, road condition, hiking trail distance and elevation gain, parking, views, elevation
- Bangkok Post: Phuket Buddha site ordered closed due to landslide risks: August 2024 landslide, closure order
- Phuket Insider: Why is the Big Buddha in Phuket closed?: landslide context, closure reasoning, Royal Forest Department conditions
- Rome2Rio: Wat Chalong to Big Buddha: distance and drive time between the two temples