Wat Choeng Kra - Forgotten Heaven and Hell Garden

Location : https://maps.app.goo.gl/fk361NFXXBNcPKmm7

Wat Choeng Kra is 26km south of Chumphon town. On Highway 41 (Asian Highway 2), some 10km after the Thung Kha PTT gas station, take Road 2010 to the left (opposite the big Golden Buddha). Travel down this road for 4km and you will see the temple complex on the left. 

Follow the road through the temple complex to the large trees at the back. Under these trees can be found what is a Hell Garden. 

Here are rather graphic scenes of what a person can expect after death if they fail to live a moral and good life. Here the tormentors remove body parts by way of an axe or guillotine.

Or sinners cast into a boiling cauldron. The tormentors may have heads of animals should the sinner have done them harm.

Or being chased up a thorn ridden tree.

When we first visited Wat Choeng Kra there was a Heaven Garden.

For some reason the Heaven Garden was removed, with the statues stored on the side of the hill.

It would seem the Heaven and Hell Garden has been abandoned. Nature is now slowly taking over and the moss algae is giving features to the statues, almost making them lifelike. Not sure how old they are but certainly before the time they started to use molds, as each statue is different.

On the hill to the side of the temple can be found a large (rather thin) Buddha and an ornate Bell Tower. The red bell really stands out!

You are nearly at the top of the hill at this point and it affords you a good view of the surrounding area. My other blog refers - https://chumphonplaces.blogspot.com/2020/10/wat-choeng-kra-viewpoint.html

Recently the Bot to this temple was refurbished. My temples photo blog refers - https://chumphontemples.blogspot.com/2024/03/wat-choeng-kra.html