Wat Ubosatharam

It was founded in 1781, early in the Rattanakosin period under Rama I; the founder is not recorded. Some sources name Phra Sunthon Muni (Chan), but he was abbot in Rama V's reign some 120 years later. The consecrated boundary was granted on 20 January 1883, and the Fine Arts Department registered it as an ancient monument in the Royal Gazette (vol. 110, part 174) on 28 October 1993. The brick-and-plaster ordination hall enshrines a Buddha subduing Mara, with red-sandstone boundary markers in front and murals of the Buddha's life inside.

The vihara holds nine Buddha images, six standing. Its murals show the Buddha preaching to the gods in Tavatimsa, a meditation on impermanence, rows of disciples between ceremonial fans, and Phra Malai receiving a lotus. The outer front wall shows the Buddha's cremation and village life — exterior murals are rare — and Kawit Tangcharatwong's 2010 paper in Silpakorn University's Damrong Journal (vol. 9 no. 2) identifies Lao influence on the vihara's outer wall, not Mon.

The murals' date is unsettled: sources say Rama III, Rama V or early Rattanakosin, the academic paper says the 19th–20th centuries CE, and a 2024 article credits the ordination-hall murals to royal artisans of Rama III's reign; no painter is named, so they are best described as local work of roughly the Rama III–V reigns. By the river is an octagonal mondop with stucco vines round its windows, blending Thai, Western and Chinese elements, built in 1899 by Luang Phithak Phasa (Bunrueang) and offered to the abbot Phra Sunthon Muni (Chan). Behind the vihara stand three chedis in different styles: an Ayutthaya bell, a Rattanakosin twelve-cornered chedi and a mixed one. The provincial PR office also mentions a scripture library standing in a pond.

Rama V visited twice. On 9 October 1901, during his northern tour, he presented the town's ceremonial sword and crossed to the temple to pay respects to the abbot. On 10 August 1906, on his second incognito journey, his boat landed at Wat Bot and he paid respects to the abbot, Luang Ta Chan. Townspeople built a twin Thai-style floating hall to receive him, with a round Pali inscription reading 'Su-akhatam te maharaja' — 'Welcome, Great King'. He gave the temple a mother-of-pearl-lidded alms bowl, a brass bowl, a suede bag and a lamp, and returned a silver Buddha the townspeople had presented to be enshrined here. Rama VI came to Uthai in 1916 and was received on the same raft. It was rebuilt as a single hall in 1976 and is still used for ordinations, weddings and funerals.

The temple is open about 08:00–18:00 and free; dress modestly, remove shoes and don't use flash near the murals. The riverside morning market opposite runs about 05:30–09:00, with daily alms-giving on the bank. Trok Rong Ya walking street, about 1 km away, runs Saturdays 16:00–20:00. About 3 km away, Wat Sangkat Rattanakhiri holds Tak Bat Thewo on 26–27 October 2026, when more than 500 monks descend its 449 steps. Watch out for dogs in the grounds.