Wat Phra Non

Wat Phra Non (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) sits at the foot of the hill below Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu in the western part of Mae Hong Son town. The temple contains a large Burmese-style reclining Buddha housed in a long pavilion — the recumbent figure, painted in gold, is one of the more impressive religious images in the town.

The temple also houses relics of local rulers in small stupas, and two large stone lion sculptures guard the main staircase. It is typically visited in combination with the hilltop Doi Kong Mu temple above, which shares the same hillside. Allow 30 minutes; entry is free.

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The reclining Buddha at Wat Phra Non is unusually large for a temple of this size — about 12 metres long — and is made in the Burmese style, with the face turned to the right rather than to the left as in Thai depictions. This reflects Mae Hong Son's distinct cultural identity: the town was settled primarily by Shan people from Burma, and the temples here reflect Shan-Burmese religious art traditions rather than the central Thai style found in Bangkok and the south.

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