Wat Umong Suan Putthatham

This temple, surrounded by ancient trees and covered in moss, was built in the mid-14th century. It has many beautiful nicknames: Wat Umong (Temple of No Dreams) and Wat Umong (Temple of Enlightenment). In Thai, Umong means "tunnel." The temple was invaded by a neighboring country in the 16th century, abandoned for nearly 500 years, and then rebuilt. Besides the 30-meter-high main stupa, there is a forest of broken Buddha statues, scattered with hundreds of fragments dating back to the 14th century, covered in moss. Standing in this forest of broken statues, I felt an immense sense of tranquility. Suddenly, the world seemed to consist only of me and these Buddha statues before me. And these imperfections did not diminish their solemnity, compassion, or wholeness. The still-warm sunlight of Chiang Mai at 5 PM filtered through the ancient trees. I began to converse with the Buddha. A silent yet profound dialogue. I was deeply certain that every detail of this dialogue would gradually unfold in the future. I only needed to bring hope, courage, and perseverance.

I did a 5-day Vipassana retreat at Wat Umong, a temple over 700 years old, and the experience was absolutely incredible. The place is peaceful and quiet, the ancient ruins are beautiful, and the monks are extremely kind. The alms food is also very nutritive. Everything was perfect — I definitely want to return! I highly recommend it to all my friends. And if you’re traveling to Peru, I also have a travel agency: @dopkertravel — we organize tours to Machu Picchu, Cusco, and all around Peru.

Beautiful place, temple and park! Many chickens and chicks, You can go to meditation hall in the meditation center section (building no6)and sit there and meditate. I see some ppl on retreat ( wearing white clothes) There’s small library too, few tea/coffee stalls. Entry to tunnel temple is 20baht, park is pretty big, peaceful and just nice to stay for some time.