Thailand - Koh Samui - Buddha Footprint

Climbing a great number of stone steps The Buddha Footprint Temple and Monastery is situated just outside Central Samui Village on a hill in the south east of the island between Hua Thanon and Bang Kao Bay.

The Buddha Footprint Temple is accessible by climbing a great number of stone steps. (We didn't count them unfortunately - but we reckon there were a couple of hundred!)

The actual Buddha Footprint.
The actual 'footprint' is a large decorative, stylised representation of the Lord Buddha's footprint repeated four times one inside the other. The 'impressions' show the sole. The footpint measures about 4 metres by 2.5 metres. The footprint is housed inside a temple building high on the hill with a baulastraded balcony overlook View due north east towards the mountains. facing due north east towards the mountains. The building in the middle distance right (picture left) is the main goal of Koh Samui.

The footprint is a place of homage and worship, the usual Buddhist temple formalities should be observed. Do not enter or stand inside the actual 'footprint' but you may walk round it.

Detail of the toes showing the whorls. Respectable clothing and the removal of footwear is mandatory inside the temple building. Only talk in lowered tones - do not be tempted to, 'Just see if there is an echo'! Remember that sacrilegious acts can carry a prison sentence.

If you visit the Buddha Footprint Temple feel free to make an offering of coins by tossing them into the footprint (much like we would toss coins in a water well) - the nearer the centre it settles the better - this will give you good luck and grant you a wish - much the money offered goes to feed the local poor.

The cleft, that looks like a cave Just below the Buddha Footprint Temple there is a cleft, that looks like a cave, in the rock formation that takes you through, past a small shrine on the left, to a naturally sheltered enclosure. In the top of the cleft there were some (unidentified) bats roosting. A juvenile bat that was reluctant to fly when the flock moved outside When we were there, there were a couple of female bats in the flock that were nursing young and there was a juvenile bat that was reluctant to fly when the flock moved outside when we inevitably disturbed them.

Monk's open-sided dwelling The monks that are living and serving at the monastery have open-sided dwellings about half way up the hill. The monks are friendly here but asked us not to take photographs of them. We were allowed to look into their humble abode.