Higashi Hongan-ji
Kyoto, Japan
Higashi Hongan-ji charges no entry fee and sells no tickets: the great gates open early in the morning and anyone may…
1 ticket or tour
By type
Best buddhist temples to visit worldwide
A Buddhist temple is a working monastery as much as a monument, and its parts vary by tradition. In Thailand and Sri Lanka look for the ordination hall, the assembly hall with its main Buddha image and a bell-shaped stupa holding relics; in Japan, a gate with guardian figures, a main hall, a pagoda and often a garden; in Nepal and Tibetan Buddhist temples, a white stupa ringed by prayer wheels. Murals, Buddha footprints and great reclining images are the details worth slowing down for.
How to visit a Buddhist temple: shoes, dress and manners — Shoes, dress, feet, photos and offerings in Buddhist temples, from the wats of Thailand and Sri Lanka to the Zen temples of Japan.
Jogyesa Temple
Seoul, South Korea
Jogyesa is free to enter and open around the clock, so there is no ticket to buy: you walk in from the street at the…
1 ticket or tour
Kinpusen-ji
Yoshino, Japan
Kinpusen-ji does not sell tickets online. The temple precinct on the Yoshino ridge is open to walk through for free,…
1 ticket or tour
Kofuku-ji
Nara, Japan
There is no advance ticket for Kofuku-ji. The temple grounds are an open space at the western edge of Nara Park and you…
1 ticket or tour
Manpuku-ji
Uji, Japan
There is no online ticket for Manpuku-ji alone. You pay a modest admission fee at the gate and walk round at your own…
1 ticket or tour
Miaoying Temple (White Pagoda Temple)
Beijing, China
Miaoying Temple is run as a museum and you pay a modest admission at the ticket window by the gate on Fuchengmennei…
1 ticket or tour
Mitaki-dera
Hiroshima, Japan
Mitaki-dera sells no tickets online and needs no booking.
1 ticket or tour
Myoshin-ji
Kyoto, Japan
Nothing needs to be booked to see Myoshin-ji. The great walled precinct is open to walk through for free, and you pay…
1 ticket or tour
Naksansa Temple
Yangyang, South Korea
Naksansa does not sell tickets online, and entry is free;
1 ticket or tour
Nanzen-ji
Kyoto, Japan
Nanzen-ji is one of the easiest major temples in Kyoto to visit on your own, and there is little to book in advance.
1 ticket or tour
Naritasan Shinsho-ji
Narita, Japan
Entry to Naritasan Shinsho-ji is free, and the grounds, the halls and the park behind them can all be visited without a…
1 ticket or tour
Nyoirin-ji (Frog Temple)
Ogori, Japan
Nyoirin-ji, better known as Kaeru-dera or the Frog Temple, is a small Shingon temple in the countryside of Ogori, south…
1 ticket or tour
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji
Kyoto, Japan
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji sits at the far end of the Saga-Toriimoto valley, well beyond the busy centre of Arashiyama, and a…
1 ticket or tour
Oudong
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Oudong is the old royal capital of Cambodia, now a hill of stupas and temples rising from the rice fields about 40 km…
1 ticket or tour
Potala Palace
Lhasa, China
Visiting the Potala is shaped by the rules for foreign travel in Tibet rather than by the ticket itself.
1 ticket or tour
Sanzen-in
Kyoto, Japan
Sanzen-in does not sell timed or advance tickets. You pay the admission fee at the gate on arrival and walk round at…
1 ticket or tour
Shey Gompa (Crystal Monastery)
Dolpo, Nepal
Shey Gompa is not a place you drop in on. The monastery stands at around 4,200 m in Upper Dolpo, a remote and…
1 ticket or tour
Small Wild Goose Pagoda
Xi'an, China
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda stands in the grounds of the Xi'an Museum, and entry to the whole site, pagoda gardens…
1 ticket or tour
Tay Phuong Pagoda
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tay Phuong Pagoda is an active Buddhist temple and charges no admission in the ordinary way;
1 ticket or tour
Temple of the Six Banyan Trees (Liurong)
Guangzhou, China
Liurong, the Temple of the Six Banyan Trees, is a working monastery in the old centre of Guangzhou, and you simply pay…
1 ticket or tour
Tianning Temple and Pagoda, Changzhou
Changzhou, China
Tianning Temple is visited on an ordinary entry ticket bought at the gate or through Chinese ticketing apps, and in…
1 ticket or tour
Tiger Hill Pagoda (Yunyan Pagoda)
Suzhou, China
The pagoda stands inside Tiger Hill scenic area, so the only thing you need is the park entry ticket, which covers the…
1 ticket or tour
Wat Asokaram
Samut Prakan, Thailand
Wat Asokaram is a working meditation monastery, and there is no ticket to buy.
1 ticket or tour
Wat Benchamabophit (Marble Temple)
Bangkok, Thailand
Admission to Wat Benchamabophit is a modest fee paid at the ticket desk inside the gate;
1 ticket or tour