Big Buddha Phuket and the white marble hill above the sea
Published on 08/24/2026 at 06:15 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Big Buddha Phuket crowns Nakkerd Hill above the southern part of Phuket, a seated Buddha statue in white marble looking over the Andaman Sea and the island’s beaches. Completed in the early twenty-first century and known formally as Phra Phuttha Ming Mongkol Akenakiri, it has become one of the most recognisable modern religious landmarks in Thailand.
A 45 m Buddha in white Burmese marble
The centrepiece of Big Buddha Phuket is the main statue, a representation of Gautama Buddha seated in the Maravijaya attitude on a high circular terrace. The figure rises about 45 m (148 ft) from its base to the top of the ushnisha, with a width of a little over 25 m (82 ft) across the lap, so that the body fills the skyline above the hilltop platform.The Buddha statue is built with a reinforced-concrete core that carries a cladding of thin white marble tiles.
The marble used for the outer surface comes from Myanmar and is frequently described as Burmese jade marble, cut into thousands of small, almost square pieces that follow the curves of the robe and body.The statue stands 45 metres tall when measured from the base platform, giving it a scale that makes individual tiles visible from the terrace while the figure still reads as a single continuous surface from the beaches below.
Nakkerd Hill, between Chalong and Kata
Big Buddha Phuket stands on the summit of Nakkerd Hill, a ridge between Chalong on the east side of the island and Kata on the west, with the hill reaching around 400 m (1,312 ft) above sea level.Nakkerd Hill sits between Kata Beach and Chalong, and the statue is visible from many vantage points in southern Phuket, including stretches of the coastal road and viewpoints above the bays.
The hilltop is laid out as a broad terrace encircling the main statue, with smaller shrines, statues and prayer spaces around the base. From the edges of the terrace, visitors look out towards Chalong Bay on one side and towards Kata and Karon on the other, with the town grid, the line of the shore and the green interior of Phuket all clearly visible under the raised figure of the Buddha.The official name Phra Phuttha Ming Mongkol Akenakiri appears on bilingual signs, but Big Buddha Phuket is the everyday name used on maps and in local speech.
From early 2000s project to island landmark
The project on Nakkerd Hill belongs to the surge in large-scale Buddha images built across Thailand in the early twenty-first century. Work on Big Buddha Phuket began in the early 2000s, with sources placing the official start of construction around 2002 and the raising of the concrete core on the hill from 2004 onwards.Construction on the Phra Phuttha Ming Mongkol Akenakiri is described as having its formal beginning in 2002, when the project moved from planning on paper to work on the hill.
The cladding with white Burmese marble tiles continued for several years, with accounts describing the main statue as structurally complete by the late 2000s.German-language descriptions date the main phase between 2002 and 2008, while work on the base, terrace buildings and surrounding halls carried on afterwards. Donations from Thai Buddhists and visitors have played a central role in funding the marble tiles and auxiliary structures, and the site combines its religious function with a broad hilltop lookout over Phuket.
Visiting Big Buddha Phuket: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Big Buddha Phuket stands on Nakkerd Hill between Chalong and Kata in southern Phuket, with access by paved road from the Chao Fa Road West area.
- The hilltop terrace sits at an elevation of roughly 400 m (1,312 ft), and reaching the main platform involves walking up a series of concrete steps from the vehicle area.
- The site forms part of a wider temple complex with smaller shrines and image halls, and visitors encounter areas where shoes are removed and shoulders and knees are expected to be covered.
- The official language is Thai and the currency is the Thai baht.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Big Buddha Phuket
Where is Big Buddha Phuket located?
Big Buddha Phuket stands on Nakkerd Hill between Chalong and Kata in the southern part of Phuket, on the south-western side of Thailand.
What can visitors expect at Big Buddha Phuket?
Visitors find a large seated Buddha statue clad in white Burmese marble, a broad terrace with viewpoints over the island and several smaller shrines and halls.
What makes Big Buddha Phuket distinctive?
The combination of a 45 m (148 ft) tall Buddha image, white marble cladding and a hilltop position above the Andaman coast makes Big Buddha Phuket a distinctive landmark.
