Wat Sam Ngam

According to the national temple history book, it was founded around 1807; the old ordination hall was built in 1900 and consecrated in 1907, the royal boundary granted in 1953 and the new hall built in 1963. Some numerals in the old register are faded, so treat these as moderately reliable. Claims that it dates from the Ayutthaya period have no evidence. The register lists more than 20 abbots since Luang Pho Yu around 1884, and calls the 1953 boundary grant a later one, following the old hall's 1907 consecration.

Locals call it Luang Pho Khao's temple, after a revered white Buddha image — Luang Pho Khao is an image, not a monk. There is also a replica of Phra That Phanom, but no height, build year or builder has been found, and it is missing from a 2025 survey of Phra That Phanom replicas. The abbot is Phra Khru Phinit Panyophat ('Phra Khru Yang'), who is also the subdistrict's senior monk.

In August 2021 the abbot lent the temple's 11-rai meditation centre to the district as a 100-bed COVID-19 field hospital. In 2026 the temple's kathin is on Sunday 1 November at 09:00. The name Sam Ngam ('three prongs') comes from the Khlong Sam Ngam canal branching off the Yom to form a three-way water junction. Sam Ngam was once a subdistrict of Tha Luang district and became a district on 1 March 1939, formed from six subdistricts of Mueang Phichit and two of Bang Krathum; today it has five subdistricts and 80 villages.

Entry is free. Dress modestly and remove shoes in the ordination hall; there is parking, and several eateries lie within about 1.5 km, including the old Sam Ngam market. The temple sits on low riverside land in a district that has flooded repeatedly — 2011, 2017, 2021 and October 2025 — so check the news before a September–October visit. November–February is best. No temple phone number was found; the Sam Ngam district office is 056-691-200.