Attraction

This is the most revered place on the island among local Buddhists because the complex contains the pagoda Wat Sila Ngu, which houses Buddha’s relics. Even before the tourist boom the royal family visited to pay respects to the relics, a major event for locals. Next to the pagoda a long stairway descends to the sea, decorated with sculptures of white nagas (serpent-like mythic beings) believed to have guarded Buddha during meditation. To the left and right of the stairway is a cemetery. Buried here is the former editor-in-chief of the popular English-language newspaper Bangkok Post — and the island’s first tourist — Derril G. Berringar, who did much to popularize Samui.