Phuket Big Buddha
Phuket Big Buddha, or The Great Buddha of Phuket, is a seated Maravija Buddha statue in Phuket, Thailand. The official name is Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakiri, shortened to Ming Mongkol Buddha. Sitting atop Nakkerd Hill near Chalong, construction began in 2004. Expansion of the base was ongoing as of 2015. By 2017, 80 percent of the project had been completed. It is the third-tallest statue in Thailand behind only the Great Buddha of Thailand and Luangpho Yai.
The Buddha statue depicts Gautama in a sitting position and is tall and wide. It is made of concrete and covered with Burmese white marble. Facing towards Ao Chalong Bay the statue is the main Buddha of the Wat Kitthi Sankaram temple. The statue was declared the "Buddhist Treasure of Phuket" by Somdet Phra Yanasangwon, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, in 2008.
The statue cost 30 million baht, sourced primarily from donations. It was built legally in a national conserved forest with the approval of Thai Royal Forest Department.
The Tiger Muay Thai tryouts notoriously concludes with a gruelling run up the Big Buddha hill.