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The Sanctuary of Truth
A Must-See Beautiful Wooden Structure in Pattaya
The Sanctuary of Truth – A Must-Visit Attraction in Pattaya!
It’s a relaxing trip with my kid, but whenever we travel, we always want to visit at least one famous tourist spot on the itinerary.
This time, my mom is also traveling with us, so I couldn’t just plan a trip that Liam would enjoy. Moms like to visit attractions and see new things, so it’s a bit unavoidable.
During our last trip to Pattaya, we visited a zoo and an elephant sanctuary, both of which were wonderful. But I wanted to do something I don’t often get to do – feeding elephants in an area where they roam freely. Liam loved it, and I thought my mom would find it fascinating too. But since the movement isn’t so flexible, I had to plan everything on my own, and just thinking about it was overwhelming.
After thinking about where to go, I decided on the Sanctuary of Truth, which is convenient to visit by taxi.
How to Get to the Sanctuary of Truth
🚕 By Taxi or Ride-Hailing App
Travel Time: About 15 minutes
Cost: Around ฿80-฿100
How to Get There: You can call a taxi or motorbike taxi from the hotel using Grab or Bolt apps. The distance is about 5.7 km, making it a convenient and quick option.
We used Grab to call a taxi from the hotel, and when we returned, we called Grab again from the pickup/drop-off zone to go back to the hotel. There are plenty of taxis dropping off passengers at the Sanctuary of Truth’s pickup/drop-off zone, so when you call Grab, a taxi nearby will immediately pick you up, and there’s no need to worry.
Admission Fees and Hours for the Sanctuary of Truth
Operating Hours: Daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Dress Code: Avoid shorts or sleeveless shirts, and wear appropriate attire.
Admission Fees:
Adults: ฿500
Children: ฿250
Free Admission: Children under 109cm
Children’s Ticket: For heights between 110cm to 140cm
The sanctuary of truth website
An interesting thing about the Sanctuary of Truth is that the admission fee for children is based on their height. Roughly, that’s the standard, and although I don’t know Liam’s exact height, he wasn’t charged any fees.
We could have bought cheaper tickets from websites like MyRealTrip or Klook, but we would have needed to purchase them in advance. Since the weather was often rainy during this period, we decided to wait and see the weather before buying them. Also, traveling with a child makes it hard to plan in advance, as you never know what might come up.
Once you arrive at the Sanctuary of Truth, there’s a ticket booth right in front. You have to wait in line to purchase your tickets, and then walk for about 5 minutes down a path before reaching the Sanctuary. On the way, there were paid activities like feeding baby goats milk and giving carrots to cows. If you have kids, it’s hard to just walk past these
Liam wanted to feed the cows, so we bought a basket of carrots for about ฿30. Almost all of it was fed by me and my mom.
Liam was too scared… haha.
Entering the Sanctuary of Truth
The Sanctuary of Truth can only be entered through a group tour. There are tours in various languages throughout the day. The English tours are frequent, so you don’t need to match your visit time with a specific language. If you arrive and wait a little, the next tour will start soon. You can either wait for the tour in your preferred language or join the English tour. We initially went during the time for the Korean tour, but since it hadn’t started, we waited and then joined the English-speaking group when it began. Some people listened closely to the guide’s explanation, but since we were with Liam, we were busy taking photos and chasing after him, so we didn’t need the guide’s explanation.
As you walk further, you’ll see the lookout point. Everyone stops here for a photo, and then waits in line for the tour to enter based on the language.
To reach the Sanctuary of Truth, you’ll have to descend a very steep stone staircase. Going down wasn’t an issue, but climbing back up after the tour in the scorching heat was quite tiring.
I wore a dress with a t-shirt on top to follow the dress code. You need to wear clothes that cover your knees and shoulders.
Visiting the Sanctuary of Truth
Construction of the Sanctuary of Truth began in 1981, and it is still unfinished. This traditional Thai-style wooden palace is built entirely using traditional carpentry techniques, with no nails used, which is its most distinctive feature. It’s not just a tourist site; it’s a space that harmoniously incorporates Eastern philosophies and religions, blending Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and various other Asian traditional beliefs.
Architectural Carvings: The walls, ceiling, and columns are intricately carved, depicting stories about the purpose of human existence, the truth of the universe, life and death, and reincarnation.
Core Philosophy: The message conveyed is that humans should seek spiritual truths over material things.
When you descend a long staircase, you’ll come face to face with the Sanctuary of Truth. It’s hard to believe that all of this was carved by hand.
The Sanctuary of Truth was so vast that it couldn’t all be captured in one shot, so I took only part of it. My mom took some pictures of me, and she also took one of Liam and me.
Liam didn’t listen, so I just let him be…
The Sanctuary of Truth is still an unfinished structure, and people are still inside, carving the wood by hand to continue building the architecture.
We each took a photo, and surprisingly, Liam eagerly posed for a picture.
Once you enter the interior, there are photo spots marked on the floor, so you don’t have to worry about where to take your photos.
However, there were so many people, making it difficult to take photos without people in the background. With Liam running around everywhere, it was impossible to get a proper shot. But I told myself it was all part of the memories, so I quickly snapped some pictures and kept moving.
When I asked Liam to take a photo, he hid, and when I told him to come out, he still wouldn’t. Ugh, it was tough… ><
He peeked his face out from behind me for the photo. Haha!
After touring around, it took about 40 minutes. Liam got bored shortly after we entered, grumbling and not being very cooperative. He kept asking to go back to the hotel, so I quickly took some photos and wrapped things up, and it only took about 40 minutes. I had heard that the usual tour takes about an hour to an hour and a half.
After we finished the tour and were heading out, the sky turned really dark, as if a heavy rain was coming.
Sure enough, as we made our way to the pick-up/drop-off zone, the rain started pouring down!
Fortunately, we were able to quickly grab a ride and head back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, the rain was pouring so heavily that we couldn’t see anything in front of us.
After visiting the Sanctuary of Truth, it felt like I had completed a mission!
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