All activities / Meditation / Vipassana / Surat Thani
Meditation / Vipassana in Surat ThaniTH
Southern Thailand's monastery country: home of Suan Mokkh, the forest hermitage whose ten-day silent retreats have started on the first of every month for decades.
Why here
Suan Mokkh is Southeast Asia's most storied silent-retreat institution: founded on the lineage of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, one of the twentieth century's most influential Theravada teachers, its International Dharma Hermitage has run a ten-day silent retreat starting on the first of every month, continuously, for decades. The format is the antithesis of wellness tourism: registration in person only, the day before the month begins, a 2,000-baht donation covering all ten days, 4 am wake-ups, concrete beds, noble silence, and anapanasati taught in its historic home region. Dipabhavan, the sister center on Koh Samui founded by Ajahn Poh, adds two seven-day retreats monthly for those who cannot commit to ten. This is the source, priced like one.
Best months
Retreats run every month year-round; December to March is the comfortable season and October-November the wettest on the Gulf coast. Registration is first-come, in person, on the last day of the prior month; phones are surrendered and the ten-day commitment is binding.
Getting there & around
Fly or train to Surat Thani; Chaiya is a short ride north. Arrive the day before the month starts to register at the hermitage gate. Dipabhavan on Koh Samui publishes its own schedule.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Dipabhavan Meditation Center
Retreat centerThe sister center on Koh Samui founded by Ajahn Poh, running two seven-day silent retreats each month in the same tradition.
Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage
Retreat centerThe forest hermitage at Chaiya running ten-day silent retreats from the first of every month in the lineage of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, for a 2,000-baht donation.