Bus times from Phuket to Nakhon Si Thammarat

By bus it takes 5 hours to travel from Phuket to Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Bus Timetable: Phuket to Nakhon Si Thammarat

• Click on the ‘Phuket – Nakhon Si Thammarat’ link in the timetable below for more information and to buy tickets.

Bus Stop in Phuket

Bus services to Nakhon Si Thammarat depart from Phuket Bus Terminal 2.

Arrival in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Bus services from Phuket terminate at Nakhon Si Thammarat Bus Station.

Wat Phra Mahathat in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Wat Phra Mahathat, or Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan which is the temple’s full title, is the most visited tourist attraction in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Wat Phra Mahathat is also an important place of worship for Thai Buddhists and is classed as 1 of the 6 principle Royal Temples of Thailand. Wat Phra Mahathat is believed to be very old, although exactly how old is a matter of debate. Some people believe that the temple was first established in 291 AD when a tooth of the Lord Buddha, which had been retrieved from the funeral pyre, was brought to the site and entombed within a small chedi.

The main feature of Wat Phra Mahathat is its central white chedi, which is 78 metres tall. The chedi is believed to pre-date the rest of the temple having been constructed in the 13th century and enlarged to its current size and shape over the following centuries. The main chedi is located within a courtyard containing 173 smaller chedi and an outer wall with a roof which covers hundreds of Buddha statues lined up facing the main chedi, which is where the Buddha tooth relic is believed to now reside. The other main feature of the temple is its impressive Viharn, or ordination hall, which was built in 1628 which distinctive thick white supporting columns which slant inwards. The Viharn at Wat Phra Mahathat is considered to be the finest surviving examples of Ayutthaya style temple architecture.