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Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi

Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi

Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi Located at Moo 4, Ban Wang Takien of Tha Sai Luad Sub-district, Phra That Hin Kew at Don Din Jee is a pagoda enshrining relics of Buddha, placed on top of a large golden rock. It is a wonder of nature that a constricted rock with a Mon-style pagoda sitting on top can balance on the edge of a precipice. The base of the Mon style pagoda was made in the size fitting the width of the rock. Local people call this miraculous rock, “Chedi Hin Phra Indra Kwaen” (a rock pagoda hung by Indra) and call the enshrined relics inside the pagoda, “Phaya Long.” These objects are respected and worshipped by local people of Tak and nearby provinces. To get there, take highway 105, heading Rim Moei Market and go past Tha Art village and Wang Takien village. Go on for about 3 kilometers, you will reach Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi. It has been told that Phra That Hin Kew at Don Din Chi was built by a Karen, named Pa Suay Ja Poh, who had faith in Buddhism, during the time when England ruled Burma. He put Rupee coins on an elephant’s back and had it carry them around to find a place to build the pagoda to pay respect to Buddha. When he arrived at the Hin Kio cliff (Don Din Chi), he saw a large rock balancing on the edge of the cliff in the same way as the Phra Indra Kwaen pagoda in Burma. Therefore, he decided to build the pagoda here at Don Din Chi along with enshrining the relics of Buddha and five golden Buddha images inside the pagoda.Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi is located on a high cliff, overlooking Moei River and Myanmar. Because rocks at Don Din Chi are black or dark brown like burnt soil (“Din Chi,” in Thai), the pagoda was so called “Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi.” In February of every year, people of Mae Sot District and Burmese people organize the annual Phra That Hin Kio at Don Din Chi worshipping ceremony. Apart from the Phra That Hin Kio, in the area of Wat Phra That Hin Kio Don Din Chi, there is also another interesting sight which is an ancient boat found by Wang Takien people on April 5, 1996. They dug it up and keep it at Don Din Chi. It was a 126-meter wide, 13.35-meter long, 0.52-meter tall, 0.04-meter thick boat made from a single log. The head and the stern of the boat share the same length at 1.2 meters. The boat has 4 gaps with uneven space in between where wooden planks could be inserted to make seats. From the style and the size of the boat, it is assumed that the boat was approximately 200 years old and it was used for delivering food and goods between the two banks of Moei River.