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Opening days: Daily

Opening hours: 08.00 - 17.00

 

Wat Phra That Sisaket Sisaket Subdistrict, Na Noi District, Nan Province. Wat Phra That Si Sa Ket is one of the most revered religious landmarks in Nan's Na Noi District. Although there is no definitive evidence of when it was originally built, oral history passed down from village elders suggests that the original stupa was constructed by the Burmese, referred to locally as Marn. The original temple stood on the banks of the Ngao River, in the area known as Si Sa Ket Town, opposite present-day Ban Kom Ko, Si Sa Ket Subdistrict. Within the temple grounds were a stupa, a viharn (assembly hall), and a principal Buddha image cast in bronze, measuring four sok, or approximately two meters, across at the lap. The temple also had residential quarters for monks and novices.

 

Eventually, the temple was destroyed by a natural disaster. After several days of continuous rainfall, a massive flood swept through the area, submerging and washing away the stupa, viharn, and Buddha image. Despite villagers’ efforts to recover the sacred objects after the water receded, nothing could be found, leaving behind only ruins. Later, villagers decided to rebuild the temple at a new location slightly to the east. They constructed a new ubosot (ordination hall) and created a brick and mortar Buddha image, also with a four-sok lap width. Around the temple grounds, villagers erected a simple fence by embedding wooden posts into the ground and weaving forest bamboo through holes drilled in them, a makeshift gate known locally as Pratu Bong, or "drilled gate."

 

Unfortunately, disaster struck again. A second major flood caused the Ngao River to change its course toward the Pratu Bong Temple. The erosion of the riverbank caused the ground to collapse, sweeping away the ubosot and the Buddha image. Fearing that the stupa might also be damaged, villagers dismantled it and salvaged ancient jars and valuable items, which they moved to a mountain near the village of Si Sa Ket for safekeeping. After the great flood, many families relocated to Chiang Rai Province and nearby areas, fearing another catastrophe. As a result, the once-thriving village dwindled in size.

 

Later, a monk known as Luang Pho Pheng (Phra Suya Sattaro) led a group of villagers to settle on the mountainside and rebuild their homes. There, he established a new temple, keeping the name Wat Phra That Si Sa Ket in honor of the original. Once the new temple was completed, Luang Pho Pheng gathered the villagers to open the sacred jars that had been hidden away. The jar lids were tightly sealed with a local substance known as sataai, a mixture of fine sand, white lime, animal hide glue, and sugarcane sap, similar to cement. Inside, they found a white relic the size of a pinky finger, resembling a cowrie shell, believed to be a relic of the Arahant Kaccāyana. Alongside the relic were seven precious crystals, each with unique colors: a shiny black one the size of a chicken egg known as Kaew Mahanin (Great Black Gem), a green one called Kaew Khieo Hua Pet (Duck-head Green Gem), a deep red one called Kaew Kor (Kor Fruit-colored Gem), a smoky white one called Mok Mung Mueang (City Mist Gem), a clear white gem, and two yellow gems. The green gem was particularly remarkable; when wrapped in cotton, it emitted a radiant green glow.

 

Around 1937 (B.E. 2480), Luang Pho Pheng and the villagers commissioned a new stupa to enshrine the relic. They hired Mr. Wong Norin from Mueang Li Subdistrict as the chief builder, and construction took two years to complete. Today, Wat Phra That Si Sa Ket stands not only as a place of worship but as a testament to the faith, resilience, and unity of the local community. It serves as a cultural heritage site worthy of preservation for future generations to learn from and honor.