Since its opening Tiger Temple or Wat Pa Luangta Bua gained a reputation as a wildlife sanctuary. It started with an injured jungle fowl given to the monk by the villagers. Then peacocks came attracted by the calls of by then rather large colony of jungle fowl. An injured wild boar stumbled in to the monastery and the monks cared for him until he could be released back into the forest.

The next day he came back followed by his family group of about 10 animals. Now a countless number of wild boars find shelter in the monastery. Villanges also started to bring in unwanted pets: four species of deer moved in, followed by buffalo, cow, horses and wild goats. All these animals are roaming the ground of the monastery freely.

The first tiger cub arrived in the monastery in Feb. 1999. It was a female cub of Indochinese tiger subpecies and ger condition was very poor. When she was only a few months old her mother was killed by poachers near the Thai - Burma border. The cub was sold to a wealthy Bangkok resident who ordered her stuffed. A local was hired to do the job, which fortunately ge did not finish. And though he injected her in the neck with preservative formalin the cub survived. When she arrived to the monastery she was freil and terrified of the slightest sound. Under the loving care of the monks the cub recovered but in July 1999 she fell seriously ill and died. People who knew about the incident did not want to see another cub mintrested again. However, it was not to be.

Visiting hours:

The monastery is open to the public from 12.00 pm to 3.30 pm. The best time to visit the temple is between 12.00 pm. and 3.30 pm. If you arrive after 3.30 the temple gates will be closed and you will miss the opportunity to pet the tigers.

The tiger encounter:

At 1pm we walk tigers to the canyon and the visitors are given a chance to walk with the last tiger and to have their photos taken. On arriving to the canyon the visitors are taken inside one person at a time where they have an opportunity to pet a tiger and have their photos taken by our staff. Tigers remain in the canyon until approximately 4pm. Shortly after 4pm we take the tigers back to their cages for the night and the visitors are given another opportunity to walk with the last tiger and to have their photos taken.

How To get There :

From Bangkok : by Bus
Take a bus to Kanchanaburi from the Southern Bus Termimal in Bangkok. The trip taked about 2.5 hours. Then follow the directions to the temple from Kanchanaburi town.

From Kanchanaburi Town : By Bus
Take a bus to Sai Yok from the Bus Station and ask to be dropped of at the temple. The trip takes about 45 minutes. From the bus drop of point on the main road follow the dirt road the temple for approximately 1.5 km.

Warning :

Please do not wear any bright colored clothes, especially red. You will not be able to approach the tigers if you wear a bright outfit. Ladies are asked to dress appropriately for visiting a monastery.